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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.

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 to H. Copper

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06334 Author/Creator: Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 Place Written: Alexandria, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 21 May 1865 Pagination: 4 p. ; 15.2 x 20.3 cm. Order a Copy

Sherman defends the terms of surrender he gave to General Joseph Johnston, discussing his "Memorandum" (i.e., Johnston's surrender agreement), and claiming the document was written "quickly." Sherman writes that "Sam [U.S. Grant] never saw or heard about it." He further notes that it was "a mere naked memorandum for the new President [Andrew Johnson] to manipulate and give me what I had a right to ask some definite idea of the status of the surrendered army." Sherman claims that he didn't think it would be publicized. Written in a camp near Alexandria, Virginia, on stationary marked "Head-Quarters Military Division of the Mississippi."

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885

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