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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.

Sumner, Jethro, 1733-1785 to Richard Caswell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02498.13 Author/Creator: Sumner, Jethro, 1733-1785 Place Written: Camp at Halifax, North Carolina Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 April 1777 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket Height: 23.4 cm, Width: 18.7 cm Order a Copy

Written by Colonel Sumner to North Carolina Governor Caswell. Encloses a list of officers, their ranks, and appointments as of the 16 April 1777. Also encloses a return of the 3rd Regiment and the names of officers he is taking northward (both lists are not included). Says the regiment has suffered by enlistment of soldiers in the service of South Carolina and Georgia as well as by desertion. Wants a system established that will deter civilians from harboring deserters. In the fall of 1777 Sumner took part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown and wintered with his regiment at Valley Forge.

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