Our Collection

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.

Grant, William F., fl. 1862 to Thomas Grant re: soldiers' reasons for enlistment

Order a pdf of this item here.

A high-resolution version of this object is available for registered users. LOG IN

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07227 Author/Creator: Grant, William F., fl. 1862 Place Written: Newport News, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1862/07/21 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; Height: 23.8 cm, Width: 18.5 cm Order a Copy

from Union soldier in Company D, 100th Pa.: "Soldiers say they never enlisted to fight for the freedom of the slaves and if they make this a war to eradicate slavery they will throw down their arms contrabands...I would drive them all into the sea and drown them." To his father. With patriotic envelope.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources