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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.

Semmes, Raphael, 1809-1877 to John M. Kell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04021 Author/Creator: Semmes, Raphael, 1809-1877 Place Written: Mobile, Alabama Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 28 November 1865 Pagination: 5 p. : Height: 21.1 cm, Width: 13.2 cm Order a Copy

Kell was first officer of the Alabama from 1862 to 1864. Writes to Kell to answer his question about taking the pardon, to thank him for naming his first-born son after him, and to tell him of the disposition of prize money from the ship. Semmes states that he had not been offered a pardon, did not mean to ask for one, and would refuse one if it were offered to him.

Semmes, Raphael, 1809-1877
Kell, John McIntosh, 1823-1900

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