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.

Lee, Henry, 1756-1818 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05883 Author/Creator: Lee, Henry, 1756-1818 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 30 April 1793 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 22.3 cm, Width: 18.3 cm Order a Copy

Says his proposed trip across the Atlantic must take place soon. Is at a loss to describe the situation in France. Hopes Knox can send him information. Wants his intentions kept secret though. Asks "is there any danger in passing the Atlantic in an American bottom?" Writes, "I hate a jail & dislike the idea of captivity." Says he wrote to Knox yesterday and enclosed intelligence on the Indians. He also asked for the money promised his state in that letter.

Lee, Henry, 1756-1818
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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