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.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 to Marcus Wright

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04269 Author/Creator: Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 Place Written: Biloxi, Mississippi Type: Letter Date: 14 October 1880 Pagination: 7 p. : docket ; Height: 20.4 cm, Width: 12.7 cm Order a Copy

Written and signed by Varina Davis, for her husband. Responds at length to General Wright's questions concerning the conduct of General Joseph E. Johnston's defense of Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. With references to numerous letters, Davis explains his own decisions, comments on problems with supplies, and discusses the role of records in building, maintaining, and defending personal reputations. Many of Davis's official letters had scattered since the war, and so-called supporters of Davis had stolen quite a few, including much of the correspondence between Davis and Robert E. Lee. Written at Davis's home, Beauvoir.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889
Davis, Varina, 1826-1906
Wright, Marcus J. (Marcus Joseph), 1831-1922

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources