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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, William Wallace, fl. 1861-1862 to Asa Smith

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03742.10 Author/Creator: Smith, William Wallace, fl. 1861-1862 Place Written: Halls Hill, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 9 March 1862 Pagination: 3 p. : Height: 19.8 cm, Width: 12.6 cm Order a Copy

Written by William Wallace Smith to his brother Asa Smith. References receiving Asa's letter and the "smoking cap" that came with it. Says nothing is going on, but says it won't be long because every man is to be provided with 60 rounds of ammunition. Tells him about picket duty. Says he went to Falls Church and went to the church that George Washington helped to build. Says "it is a square brick building [that] does not look much like a church on the outside." Updates him on mutual friends. Embossed American eagle on the first page of the letter with the words "Union and Constitution" also embossed. Written at Camp Wilson.

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