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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.

Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945 Headquarters XXI Corps

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09591.12 Author/Creator: Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945 Place Written: Germany Type: Typed letter Date: 25 May 1945 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 20.3 cm, Width: 23.3 cm Order a Copy

The document is typed by Lt. Col. Hubert D. Barnes to the Adjutant General in Washington, D.C. Barnes notes that the German soldiers have lost battle resolve. On May 6th, it was announced that German Army group "G" surrendered, thus ending the battalions front battle in Miesbach, Bavaria, but there were many prisoners to process. Despite the announcement of V.E. Day, the soldiers remained somber as the war was not over until the East was won. No battle casualties were suffered in the last ten days of war, and a total of 42,489 rounds were fired during their ten month tour with all four active U.S. armies and support of the French army.

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