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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.

Crocker, John Simpson, 1825-1890 to Harriette Crocker "Camp at Workwick [Warwick] Court House,"

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02426.02 Author/Creator: Crocker, John Simpson, 1825-1890 Place Written: Newport News, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 April 1862 - 21 April 1862 Pagination: 6 p. : address : envelope Height: 21 cm, Width: 13 cm Order a Copy

Letter to his wife discussing camp life and military operations during the Peninsula campaign. Weather very hot, so he let the men break from drilling to rest. One thousand men constructing a military road. Relates a story of a rifle accidentally being fired in camp, but no one being injured. The two armies entrenched on opposite sides of Warwick Creek, occasionally skirmishing, with "tremendous cannonading" all around. "The siege progresses slowly but as fast as possible." Written at Warwick Courthouse. Crocker was taken prisoner two days later at Yorktown.

Crocker, John Simpson, 1825-1890
Crocker, Harriette, 1827-?

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