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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.

Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878 to his family

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03603.217 Author/Creator: Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878 Place Written: Suffolk, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 March 1863 Pagination: 6 p. Order a Copy

Responds to questions from his family about fixtures in their rental properties. Expresses interest in the results of the election and requests that a chess set be sent to him via one of the Norwich men who are home on furlough. Writes that he has sent $370 via another solider traveling to Norwich last week. Writes of the weather getting warmer and of seeing daffodils bloom in the yards in Suffolk. Describes how the soldiers spend Sunday, with detail about what activities they avoid on the Sabbath. Says that he believes that Captain Hoyt would be of better service to the regiment if "he would not use liquor quite so freely."

Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878

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