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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.

Benjamin, Judah Philip, 1811-1884 [Petition for the removal of General David E. Twiggs from the command of the District of Louisiana]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01923 Author/Creator: Benjamin, Judah Philip, 1811-1884 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 September 1861 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 25.4 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy

Cosigned by Charles M. Conrad, a delegate to the Provincial Confederate Congress. Benjamin, Acting Confederate Secretary of War, represents the citizens of New Orleans, Louisiana. Speaking of Twiggs, writes: "advancing age has impaired his faculties to such an extent as to render it evident that he is incompetent to the command assigned him... We are his friends and always have been, and it is with pain but with a sense of public duty, that we feel compelled to solicit his withdrawal..."

Benjamin, Judah Philip, 1811-1884
Twiggs, David Emanuel, 1790-1862
Conrad, Charles Magill, 1804-1878

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