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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.

Kessler, Thomas J., fl. 1843-1868 to Elizabeth N. Kessler

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.52.15 Author/Creator: Kessler, Thomas J., fl. 1843-1868 Place Written: Chicago, Illinois Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 26 September 1863 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope Height: 18.3 cm, Width: 22.6 cm Order a Copy

Writes to his sister from Camp Douglas. Reports 1500 Confederate prisoners have arrived in camp over the last two days. Discusses two men who were killed in camp. The first was a sharpshooter who shot himself. The other was a "negro boy" who was shot by a guard. Writes, "… He felt getting Rather careless He was going to His quarters and crossed the gard [sic] when the gard [sic] Halted him 3 times and He did not stop the 4th time shot him…" Thanks her for the stamps. Encourages her to go to school this winter. The letter has a watermark on the top left hand corner. Addressee name taken from envelope.

Kessler, Thomas J., fl. 1843-1868
Kessler, Elizabeth N., fl. 1863

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