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.

Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878 Appointment of Stephen Decatur, Jr. as commander on the Naval Reserve List

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02794.170 Author/Creator: Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Document signed Date: 1861/08/14 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 24.7 cm, Width: 19.3 cm Order a Copy

Partially printed manuscript with handwritten insertions. Signed as U.S. Secretary of the Navy.

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