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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.

Smith, Edmund Kirby, 1824-1893 to Darwin C. Pavey

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09149 Author/Creator: Smith, Edmund Kirby, 1824-1893 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: February 24, 1893 Pagination: 3 p. : Order a Copy

"Fitz John Porter was my classmate and has always been and is one of my dearest friends. He was always faithful and true in his allegiance and devotion of his country and I place him amongst the very best of your Generals...a born soldier and leader. His friendship for and attachment to McClelland [sic] was his cardinal sin and produced that cruel and unjust finding of the court which degraded Porter as a soldier and citizen. The whole country now recognizes his loyalty and devotion...Mr. Hayes is a good and true man and his administration as honest and pure is well recognized throughout the South. You know what Gen. Hampton said of him and of the indebtedness of South Carolina & the South for his fair & impartial action for their troubles..."

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