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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.

Swan, James, 1754-1830 to Joseph Howell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.04199 Author/Creator: Swan, James, 1754-1830 Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 11 May 1789 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 31.6 cm, Width: 20.4 cm Order a Copy

Written from the "War Office." Writes that a Lieutenant Colonel Monbarrot of Colonel Fennuiel's regiment claims a right to be in the Society of the Cincinnati. Declares that the Secretary of War (Henry Knox) would like Howell, Paymaster General, to research the veracity of his claim using documents in the pay office, in order to see whether he is eligible to join. Marked "private" on docket.

Swan, James, 1754-1830
Howell, Joseph, 1750-1798
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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