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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.

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

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04558.088 Author/Creator: Tillotson, George W., 1830-1918 Place Written: Suffolk, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 April 1863 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.5 x 13 cm. Order a Copy

Rebels "appear ready to siege us out" and reports "Old Stonewall Jackson has sent a flag of truce [to the city] warning the citizens to leave if they didnt want to get hurt." Mentions visiting other NY regiments and describes "a queer kind of battery used" by the rebels, a "large rocket containing a bombshell" which makes no sound when launched "but a mighty whizzing as they go through the air." He says they "would be very destructive only for the difficulty of makeing them go where they want them."

Tillotson, George W., 1830-1918

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