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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.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806 to Lucy Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.00632 Author/Creator: Knox, Henry, 1750-1806 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 2 August 1777 Pagination: 3 p. : address : docket ; Height: 21 cm, Width: 15.8 cm Order a Copy

Reports, "The enemy have manoevr'd us to this place... and after all gave us the slip... this is now the third day of their departure with a fine a wind as ever blew to carry them to New York and so up the North River [the Hudson]-- this must be their great object, and however appearances may have been against it- I could never account why it was not done- Thank God our force there is pretty respectable, and if they can hold out only till we get there... our forces will all be put in motion that way." Emphasizes that General George Washington could not have acted otherwise, for had he not moved to Philadelphia, the British would have taken the city. Predicts Howe's force is smaller than previously imagined based on the British General's hasty departure. Apologizes for the brevity of this letter.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Knox, Lucy Flucker, 1756-1824
Howe, William, 1729-1814
Washington, George, 1732-1799

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