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.

Execution of a colored soldier

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0441 Author/Creator: Place Written: s.l. Type: Photograph Date: circa 1861-1865 Pagination: 1 photograph 8.3 x 9.7 cm Order a Copy

Black deserter named Johnson hanging on gallows. Title from inscription on verso. Numeric notation: "59."

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