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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.

Weeks, John F., fl. 1860-1882 to his parents

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06728.064 Author/Creator: Weeks, John F., fl. 1860-1882 Place Written: Kingston, TN Type: Autograph letter signed Date: January 31, 1864 Pagination: 3 p : envelope Height: 12.7 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Complains about the lack and quality of food at camp. Writes that corn meal and beef bones are the primary sustenance and that the beef the soldiers eat "would stagger an American's appetite". Reports that the farthest East he's been is Dandridge, forty miles east of Knoxville, TN. Complains that he has not heard from his family since Mission Ridge and wonders why they haven't written. Describes the area he is in as very rocky and mountainous; not suitable for him.

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