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.

Washington, George, 1732-1799 to Henry Knox

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.09413 Author/Creator: Washington, George, 1732-1799 Place Written: Mount Vernon, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 April 1787 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket Height: 32.2 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Transmits a copy of an excerpt from a letter (see GLC 02437.03338) sent by Mr. Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson). Notes that the excerpt pertains to a translation of the article "Cincinnati," from the Encyclopedie Methodique, and reflects the way the French view the Society of the Cincinnati. Since Washington cannot read French, he has to rely on Jefferson's comments on the article, and has asked "a gentleman who lives in my family" to prepare a translation he encloses [not present]. Allows Knox to decide how to present the topic of the article to the Society of the Cincinnati.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Washington, George, 1732-1799
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources