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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.

Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878 to John B. Marchand

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02680.14 Author/Creator: Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Letter Date: 22 December 1863 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; Height: 26.1 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy

Printed circular from the Navy Department ordering officers to set up Boards to review all Assistant Engineers for possible promotion. Lays out the rules under which these review boards are to be conducted, and the requirements for promotion, such as "knowledge of the first six books of Euclid, of plane geometry...of conic sections, and of the strength of materials." Orders the board to score the candidates, and pass their opinions on to the Navy Department. Marchand was captain of the U.S.S. Lackawanna.

Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878
Marchand, John Bonnett, 1808-1875

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