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.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 to James Wood

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06673 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 25 July 1780 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 30.2 cm, Width: 18.6 cm Order a Copy

Discusses the complex arrangements between Virginia and the national government to provision the Continental Army, written several months before the British invasion of Virginia. Asserts that "it has been always necessary for the state & Continent to lend interchangeably such articles as the one has & the other wants & to repay them in kind." Advises Wood, if the thinks it appropriate, to order leather for Colonel Joseph Crockett (who was raising a detachment of frontier troops). Gives permission for any officer in ill health, mentioning a Mr. Mooney, to go to the springs. The states, particularly in the South, were then experiencing shortages of cash, supplies, and munitions. The war was going badly there as well, with the British sweeping through the Carolinas towards Virginia. Colonel Wood was stationed in Charlottesville, where he guarded the Convention troops surrendered at Saratoga.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Wood, James, 1741-1813

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources