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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.

Walbridge, Charles E., 1842-? to mother

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04662.051 Author/Creator: Walbridge, Charles E., 1842-? Place Written: Folly Island, South Carolina Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1863/12/7 Pagination: 4 p. : Order a Copy

He was very excited to open his box of clothes, food and other materials. "I took as much pleasure . . . as children usually do in emptying their stockings on Christmass [sic] morning." He reports that the monitor "Weehawken" has sunk, probably due to a boiler explosion. He is upset by the reports of the Sanitary Commission which tell of the hardships at Belle Island, a prisoner of war camp in Richmond. He worries over the fate of a soldier. "I am afraid one of my men, 'Sam Patterson' the Indian is still at Belle Island."

Walbridge, Charles E., 1842-?

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