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.

Tillotson, George W., 1830-1918 to his wife

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04558.044 Author/Creator: Tillotson, George W., 1830-1918 Place Written: Harpers Ferry, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 24 September 1862 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Holding themselves in readiness, rumors on Burnside, McClellan. "We have just got news that the president has issued a proclamation freeing all the slaves on the first of January. It may be for the best but stil my hopes (if I had any) of a speedy termination of the war is thereby nocked in head for I know enough of the southern spirit so that I think that they will fight for the institution of slavery even to extermination. I am glad that the enlisting spirit has been felt so generaly through the north for I wish we had army enough to sink the south out of existance in a day. I know that it is wishing tolerably strong but then you see I am geting [sic] provoked that the cursed gray backs should rob me of the enjoyments of home so long. I tell you what Dearest when the real story of war comes it is easy to pick out the cowards." Soldiers who ran from shells and got lost, others taken prisoner in battle.

Tillotson, George W., 1830-1918

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources