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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.

Painter, Heber, 1841-1900 to sister Kate

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02016.056 Author/Creator: Painter, Heber, 1841-1900 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 August 1864 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 25.5 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Writes that he has been relieved of his postmaster duties and assigned to recruiting services. Complains that the sixteen dollars a month he'll receive in recruiting services will not be enough. Expects to remain in Philadelphia a few more weeks. Some of the men have left the camp for home on a "French furlough" or absence without permission. Reports that the regiment is expected to leave for the Army the following Monday, but he is highly doubtful that it will actually happen. Hopes that the draft trouble in Columbia County serves as a warning to other communities. Requests that his sister ask his aunt to send him ten dollars, as he has not been paid and does not know when he will be. Includes a postscript note reporting that the recruitment squad has been given orders and will be leaving for the seat of war.

Painter, Heber, 1841-1900
Painter, Catherine, fl. 1844-1870

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