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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.

Van Valkenburgh, Gerrit S., 1835-1885 to his brother

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00686.08 Author/Creator: Van Valkenburgh, Gerrit S., 1835-1885 Place Written: Boone County, Arkansas Type: Autograph letter signed Date: October 28, 1862 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 19.6 cm, Width: 11.9 cm Order a Copy

Two handwritten copies of the same letter in the file. Says it has been a long time since he wrote, but not because he has not thought of his family in the North. He claims that "although we now belong to sections of our country which are engaged in an unnatural and unholy warfare Yet I cannot say that I love your or my friends less than I did when we were Members of the same great family." He wonders when they will be reunited. He says the last letter he received from his family was from July 1861. He says he shed blood for the South and that he is "now in the army fighting for liberty - for the same great principles that our grandparents fought for in the Rev. struggle." He mentions family news. Location listed as "Camp Bellfont," in Arkansas.

Van Valkenburgh, Gerrit, fl. 1850-1905

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