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.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 to Thomas Bocock

Order a pdf of this item here.

A high-resolution version of this object is available for registered users. LOG IN

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02950 Author/Creator: Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Letter signed Date: 1 April 1862 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 25.3 cm, Width: 21 cm Order a Copy

Text written for Davis by his private secretary, Burton Harrison. Indicates he is sending a communication from the Secretary of the Navy (not included) related to the budget for prosecuting the Civil War. "I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, conveying information sought by a 'Resolution of the House' requesting the President to communicate to the House what additional sums of money, if any, are in his judgment necessary to the departments of War and Navy in order to secure a successful prosecution of the War and effective defence of the Confederate States, during the time for which Congress at is present session should make provision." After the war, Harrison became a prominent New York attorney and Democratic politician. Bocock, a former U.S. Congressman, was speaker of the Confederate Congress.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889
Harrison, Burton Norvell, 1838-1904
Bocock, Thomas S., 1815-1891

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources