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.

Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815 to Henry Knox

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.04186 Author/Creator: Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 April 1789 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 32.7 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Writes that he "presume[s] upon their early friendship" to introduce to Knox a Captain All, the bearer of this letter, who he has known for fourteen years. Knows him as a capable man well-suited to working on behalf of his country. Believes that in the new government, appointments should be based on merit and not on recommendations from influential men, and would be the last to break those principles. However, argues that Captain All deserves an appointment due to "real worth & undeserved misfortune." Presents his respects to Mrs. Knox.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815
Knox, Lucy Flucker, 1756-1824

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources