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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.

Lee, John F., 1813-1884 to [Henry Jackson Hunt]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02382.082 Author/Creator: Lee, John F., 1813-1884 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: circa 1870-1880 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 15.2 cm, Width: 12.9 cm Order a Copy

Discusses the retirement pay of soldiers. Notes "What a standing-army, in expense- & paid without musters- i. e. head men, & men who never lived." A newspaper clipping, attached to the page, also discusses retirement for soldiers, stating: "It will thus be seen that the rewards for length of service and for the performance of active duties, out of all proportion, fall to the lot of the non-combative officers." Recipient inferred from content.

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889
Lee, John F., 1813-1884

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