Our Collection

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 James Barron

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.07380 Author/Creator: Knox, Henry, 1750-1806 Place Written: Montpelier, Maine Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 November 1800 Pagination: 3 p. : Height: 25.6 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy

Knox's son has been under the command of Captain Barron as a lieutenant. Knox informs Barron that despite a recommendation from John Adams, "the Senate had declined to approve the nomination of the President of the United States of him as a Lieutenant of the Navy." Secretary of the Navy Stoddert suggested Henry Jackson Knox be a midshipman under Barron, but Knox believes his son would see that as a "degradation." Knox asks Barron, then, if his son Henry Jackson Knox could be "an acting Lieutenant with the emoluments only of a midshipman."

Barron, James, 1769-1851
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Adams, John, 1735-1826
Stoddert, Benjamin, 1751-1813
Knox, Henry Jackson, 1780-1832

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources