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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.

Wheatly, John, fl. 1759 to Jabez Huntington

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.291 Author/Creator: Wheatly, John, fl. 1759 Place Written: Crown Point, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: September 1, 1759 Pagination: 2 p. : address ; : docket ; Height: 19 cm, Width: 16 cm Order a Copy

Letter written to Huntington, clerk of the Connecticut General Assembly, to describe fortifications at Crown Point on the western shore of Lake Champlain. The French abandoned and partially destroyed the fort during General Jeffery Amherst's offensive in 1759. Wheatley, the commander of a company of marines from Connecticut, describes some of the reconstruction work subsequently started. He also laments the failure of the Connecticut Assembly to properly supply his troops, who have "the honour & fortune to be the foremost i.e. the fartherest advancd of any of yo 4. Conit Regt." Apologizes for being so bold with his criticisms. Red wax seal with impression.

Huntington, Jabez, 1719-1786
Wheatley, John, fl. 1759
Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, Baron, 1717-1797

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