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.

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 To Mikell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08043 Author/Creator: Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 08 May 1876 Pagination: 3 p. + dock Order a Copy

An attempt by a confederate colonel to deliver a letter to Abraham Lincoln, which was not answered but "probably prevented the execution of the captives."

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