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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.

Chesnut, James, Jr., 1815-1885 to Jefferson Davis

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02469.03 Author/Creator: Chesnut, James, Jr., 1815-1885 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 31 July 1863 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 22.1 cm, Width: 19.6 cm Order a Copy

Colonel Chesnut writes to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, requesting a leave of absence so that he may visit home. Written on Confederate States of America Executive Department stationery.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889
Chesnut, James, Jr., 1815-1885

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