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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.

Callender, Eliezer, 1709-1790 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.00441 Author/Creator: Callender, Eliezer, 1709-1790 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 September 1776 Pagination: 1 p. : address Height: 23.5 cm, Width: 17.9 cm Order a Copy

He has heard that his son, John Callender, was either killed or wounded and taken prisoner in the Battle of Long Island. If a prisoner, [which he was], Eliezer seeks Knox's aid in getting his son released. John Callender was later exchanged and George Washington reversed his court-martial for cowardice at Bunker Hill in light of his valor at Long Island. He was captured while serving as a volunteer in Knox's artillery regiment.

Callender, Eliezer, 1709-1790
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Callender, John, fl. 1747-1797
Washington, George, 1732-1799

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