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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.

Maitland, Joseph M., 1836-1918 to Bell Wharton

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.10.171 Author/Creator: Maitland, Joseph M., 1836-1918 Place Written: Memphis, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 13 March 1865 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 24.9 cm, Width: 19.7 cm Order a Copy

Joseph writes to "Dear Darling Bell." Comments how fast her letter reached him, "...not three days on the road...." Proclaims his love for her and imagines her lips. Says he received three other letters from friends and relatives and relays their news to her. Reports the Mississippi River is very high and still rising, enabling the boats to travel quickly. Informs a man in his regiment died of typhoid after surviving the Battle at Nashville. Comments "I don't think it is an exhausting business for you to write two letters a week- and I don't think it would hurt you to write three."

Maitland, Joseph M., 1839-1918
Wharton, Bell, 1843-?

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