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.

Woolston, Charles, fl. 1864-1865 to Maria Woolston

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.26.06 Author/Creator: Woolston, Charles, fl. 1864-1865 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 January 1865 Pagination: 3 p. : envelope ; 20 x 13 cm. Order a Copy

Written from headquarters of the Army of the Potomac. Writes to his mother in Tullytown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Reports that he is well and received his box. Reports that a man was shot nearby for desertion. Discusses his discharge and is worried that if his father puts up the money, they still might not give him the discharge papers. Writes, "there is a Rebel Congressman in the house at Washington a trying to Negotiate peace none of the soldiers here want to see peace ... when our armies if on the point of victory they dont want to see a dishonerable peace." Describes seeing unburied Confederate soldiers as "an awfle sight."

Woolston, Charles, fl. 1864-1865
Woolston, Maria, fl. 1864-1865

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources