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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.

West, Lewis H., 1829-? to R. West

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03836.20 Author/Creator: West, Lewis H., 1829-? Place Written: Fortress Monroe, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 August 1861 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 24.7 cm, Width: 19.8 cm Order a Copy

Arrived at Fortress Monroe in the morning and discovered "to my disgust" that his expedition has already sailed. Reported to Captain Gleason of the USS "Mount Vernon" as the senior commander at the fort and was told he had to find quarters wherever he could. Says he must wait for the commodore to return, but to be ready for any special service he might be wanted for. Says he is now staying in the lighthouse close to fort and is comfortable with nothing to do. Second page has a quick note about procuring envelopes and stamps in a different hand and appears to be written by his sister Mary.

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