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.

West, Lewis H., 1829-? to R. West

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03836.68 Author/Creator: West, Lewis H., 1829-? Place Written: St. Catherine's Sound, Georgia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 June 1864 Pagination: 8 p. : docket ; Height: 24.6 cm, Width: 19.6 cm Order a Copy

Page 8 of this letter has a hand drawn map of the St. Catherine's Island area off the coast of Georgia. References receiving her latest letter. Says they came across a contraband signalling from the shore who told them he belonged to the USS "Waterwitch," which was just captured. He made chase of the ship and tells the story in detail. Map was drawn to help his mother understand his story. A daring commando-style raid by small Confederate boats captured the "Waterwitch" and its crew of 68 commanded by Lieutenant Pendergrast on June 3, 1864. Written while aboard the USS "Fernandina".

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources