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.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 to John Letcher

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09096 Author/Creator: Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 Place Written: s.l. Type: Letter signed Date: 31 January 1863 Pagination: 1 p. Order a Copy

Impressment of slaves for the Confederate War Effort. "I invite your attention to the enclosed communications from several members of Congress and of the Legislature, in reference to the propriety of exempting certain counties from my recent call upon you for slaves to work upon fortification." To Letcher, the Governor of Virginia.

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