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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.

Clift, Samuel, fl. 1777 to Sally Clift

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05307 Author/Creator: Clift, Samuel, fl. 1777 Place Written: Yorktown, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 October 1781 Pagination: 2 p. : address ; Height: 29 cm, Width: 18.7 cm Order a Copy

Clift, a captain in the Continental Army from Connecticut, writes to his wife describing preparations for siege of Yorktown: "till night before last we erected our first parallel within 600 Yards of the Enemies Lines, we shall continue to approach nearer & nearer till the Enemy fall into our hands." Also mentions casualties, his good health, and missing her.

Clift, Lemuel, 1755-1821
Clift, Sally, fl. 1781

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