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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.

Officers of Woodcreek to Samuel Vetch re: state of military expedition

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03107.00805 Author/Creator: Officers of Woodcreek Place Written: Woodcreek Type: Letter signed Date: 1709/09/02 Pagination: 3p. + docket 30.9 x 19.3 cm Order a Copy

Letter written to Samuel Vetch by officers preparing for the next stage of a military expedition toward Canada. The officers relate their reservations about the endeavor, believing that if the expedition fails, their country will be reduced to a "lamentable condition." They wonder if they should perhaps abort their mission, as they may be wasting their time and becoming the "sport of an insulting enemy." The letter is signed by five primary officers: Peter Schuyler, William Whiting, J. Godknap, John Schuyler, and John Livingston. It also bears the signature of a number of other officers agreeing with the statements made in the letter.

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