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.

Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882 General being handed order with two artillery crews and their guns at attention in front of house. [1861-1865 ca.]

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0115 Author/Creator: Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882 Place Written: s.l. Type: Photograph Date: 1864 Pagination: 1 albumen print Height: 24.1 cm, Width: 19.2 cm Order a Copy

A print of a photograph of a two story house. A group of artillery officers stands on the porch. The number "8" appears over the portico to the house. The artillerists manning the Napoleon smoothbores are wearing shoulder scales, usually worn by U.S. Regulars as part of the dress uniform. They might belong to a U.S. Regular artillery unit. One soldier hands a paper [order] to an unknown general. Note the sword holding open the middle window on the second story. Also note the negative must have been damaged since there is a diagonal break running across the image. Inscription on verso: "Gardner XXIV 229."
See GLC05111.01.0114

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources