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.

King, Rufus, 1755-1827 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03375 Author/Creator: King, Rufus, 1755-1827 Place Written: Hartford, Connecticut Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 13 December 1786 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 23.4 cm, Width: 19.4 cm Order a Copy

Reports that [Daniel] Shays disbanded his party on Sunday & Monday last. King reports that the stageman he is traveling with saw the disbanded insurgents. The stageman said they seemed crestfallen; "some of them say they will go no more, others that they are not yet tired of the business." Includes other information provided by the stageman, such as the fact that Shays will stay at Worcester until he receives word from the Governor. Postscript makes a reference to what appears to be the dispute over the New York-Massachusetts border. Claims there is a "prospect of compromising."

Signer of the U.S. Constitution.

King, Rufus, 1755-1827
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Shays, Daniel, 1747-1825

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