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.

Pickens, Francis Wilkinson, 1805-1869 to Colonel Richard H. Anderson

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09201 Author/Creator: Pickens, Francis Wilkinson, 1805-1869 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 June 1861 Pagination: 5 p. : Order a Copy

Detailed instructions on how he expects Colonel Anderson to command the defense of the Charleston harbor. "If any great emergency should arise, I am determined to hold this fortress at all hazzards, as it is the key of the harbor, and is essential to guard the Independence of the State."

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