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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.

Kessler, Thomas J., fl. 1843-1868 to his friends

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.52.63 Author/Creator: Kessler, Thomas J., fl. 1843-1868 Place Written: Petersburg, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 August 1864 Pagination: 6 p. : Height: 19.8 cm, Width: 25.3 cm Order a Copy

Writes to his friends from camp. Expresses his loneliness and boredom with the army. Reports on the fighting in Petersburg, Virginia. Describes soldiering and what a waste war is. Writes, "It is just calling young men from home and Bringing them here for slaughter and fast as they can kill them off call for more. A mans life is value nothing here and is not Respected By any one, is all for himself…" Comments he has not had a change of clothes for two months.

Kessler, Thomas J., fl. 1843-1868

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