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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.

Cooke, Nicholas, 1717-1782 to George Washington

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.00260 Author/Creator: Cooke, Nicholas, 1717-1782 Place Written: Providence, Rhode Island Type: Manuscript letter signed Date: 28 March 1776 Pagination: 1 p. : address Height: 23 cm, Width: 18.5 cm Order a Copy

On behalf of the General Assembly of Rhode Island, Governor Cooke requests artillery pieces for the defense of the colony, as well as the return of artillery lent to the Continental Army in Cambridge for the seige of Boston. The British evacuated Boston on 17 March 1776. "On public service" written on address leaf.

Cooke, Nicholas, 1717-1782
Washington, George, 1732-1799

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