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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.

Marchant, Henry, 1741-1796 to Joseph Clarke

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.104.01 Author/Creator: Marchant, Henry, 1741-1796 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: August 23, 1779 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 19.5 cm, Width: 16 cm Order a Copy

States he has received his letter and is concerned to hear that Marchant has not located two missing bundles of money yet. Advises that he will support his integrity in this matter should he be blamed for it or for another problem with counterfeit bills. Advises him to send copies of all the letters pertaining to the lost money and the counterfeit bills to William Ellery, a Continental Congressman from Rhode Island. Congratulates him on Major Henry Lee's brilliant attack on the British at Paulus Hook (August 19, 1779). Reports that he has heard things look well at Penobscot, (referring to the Penobscot expedition in present-day Maine, July-August 1779), but he is anxious and thinks they need reinforcements. Comments that affairs look well in the West Indies and Europe. Marchant was a member of the Continental Congress from Rhode Island. Clarke was the Treasurer of Rhode Island.

Marchant, Henry, 1741-1796
Clarke, Joseph, 1719-1792
Ellery, William, 1727-1820
Lee, Henry, 1756-1818

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