Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant, 1818-1893 Copy of telegram in cipher to Jefferson Davis

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00806 Author/Creator: Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant, 1818-1893 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Telegram Date: January 17, 1865 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 16 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Recipient's copy of a telegram to Confederate President Jefferson Davis written in Confederate cipher, decoded above each line of the message in pencil. Concerns military strategy and Beauregard's advice not to divide the Army of Tennessee. Marked as received at Richmond by telegraph from Tupelo, Mississippi. Docketed, "To divide the army of Tenn. will cause capture of Mobile, Selma, &c."

Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant, 1818-1893
Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources