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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.

Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878 to his family

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03603.237 Author/Creator: Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878 Place Written: Suffolk, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 May 1863 Pagination: 4 p. : Order a Copy

Writes that he is not very busy and that his "chief employment is battling the flies." Mentions that he plans on visiting Lake Drumond with a group of other officers and that they are to be "poled out by a couple of darkies, the distance is 12 or 15 miles and directly through Dismal Swamp." Notes that he has requested a leave of absence so that he can take care of some business at a savings bank. Says that he has an excellent new servant who keeps things very clean. Describes the foods he has been eating which include codfish balls and strawberries. Writes that he is suspicious of his servant because he is so good and charges a low price (only $10 a month). Says that he has heard rumors of the regiment moving west. Writes, "The prospect of a speedy capture seems to be dissolving and fading a way farther and farther each day."

Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878

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