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.

Thompson, Nathan, fl. 1864 to C. Parrott

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03858.01.25 Author/Creator: Thompson, Nathan, fl. 1864 Place Written: Prophetstown, Illinois Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 28 July 1864 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 21 cm, Width: 26.2 cm Order a Copy

Thompson answers John's father's letter seeking details of John's death. Just before John was fatally wounded, Lieutenant Thompson suggested they move as shells "were flying thick about them" but John answered "it was a good as place as any...and at that minute he was struck by the shell that caused his death." John went home for a while but returned to Army and though he told Thompson he would not do active duty, Thompson suspects he could not resist joining his men in battle.

Parott, John A., fl. 1862-1864
Parott, Sophia, fl. 1862-1864
Parott, Margaret, fl. 1862-1864
Parott, C., fl. 1862-1864
Porter, A.G., fl. 1862-1864
Thompson, Nathan, fl. 1864
Erskine, E., fl. 1862-1864

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources