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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.

West, Lewis H., 1829-? to Weir

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03836.55 Author/Creator: West, Lewis H., 1829-? Place Written: Charleston, South Carolina Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 August 1863 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 25 cm, Width: 19.8 cm Order a Copy

References Weir's letter of 24 July. Says he just arrived in Charleston from Bull's Bay and that he is going to Edisto to coal. His one month of command has ended as Acting Lieutenant Broadhead has taken over. He likes Broadhead, saying he is young and had served in the navy before the war. Says Fort Wagner still holds out and "by this time must be an iron mine, from the number of shells thrown into it." Says he heard the admiral will bring all the ships close in for a major attack soon. Written while aboard the USS "Montauk".

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