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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.

Magrunder, John Bankhead, 1807-1871 to the Commissary General of Subsistence

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03913 Author/Creator: Magrunder, John Bankhead, 1807-1871 Place Written: Yorktown, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: June 3, 1861 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 24.9 cm, Width: 19.5 cm Order a Copy

Confederate Colonel Magruder requests 100,000 rations of bacon, coffee, vinegar, salt and molasses immediately, noting that his soldiers' supply will be exhausted in two days. Instructs the Commissary General to send the supplies with Mr. Johnson, who has orders to inquire at West Point, Virginia regarding the quantity of provisions. Instructs the Commissary to address the stores to Lieutenant Carter. Written eight days before the Battle of Big Bethel, Virginia (a Confederate victory). Written at Camp Yorktown

Magruder, John Bankhead, 1807-1871

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