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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.

Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796 to Nathanael Greene

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06691 Author/Creator: Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796 Place Written: Williamsburg, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 September 1781 Pagination: 6 p. : docket ; Height: 23.4 cm, Width: 19.2 cm Order a Copy

Major General Wayne writing shortly before the siege of Yorktown, looks forward to the arrival of Admiral François de Grasse and praises the French forces. Predicts victory over Lord Cornwallis. Expects that the arrival of George Washington "will enable us to complete the investiture immediately." Comments on the Marquis de Lafayette's illness and his own wound. Describes the British fortifications at Yorktown and Gloucester and expresses his "fervent hope to see the American Colours...displayed upon the British lines."

Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796
Greene, Nathanael, 1742-1786
Washington, George, 1732-1799

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