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.

Middleton, Peter, ?-1781 to Myles Cooper

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.138 Author/Creator: Middleton, Peter, ?-1781 Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: December 16, 1777 Pagination: 3 p. : address : docket ; Height: 31.1 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Letter written by Middleton as a Loyalist and former medical professor and governor at King's College (now Columbia University) to Cooper, the former president of King's College who fled New York in 1775 after revolutionary violence erupted. Reports on Burgoyne's failed campaign at Saratoga. Is very critical of the general's performance in the field, saying "Where do you find in the British Annals that a disciplined [&] gallant Army ever surrendered themselves with Arms in their Hands to a Rabble, to Militia?" Applauds the speech of the Archbishop of York that claims Presbyterians need to be restricted in the same way Catholics are in Britain. Claims their loyalty needs to be purchased and that their seditious history validates the archbishop's claims.

Middleton, Peter, ?-1781
Cooper, Myles, 1737-1785
Burgoyne, John, 1722-1792
Markham, William, 1719-1807

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources