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.

Benham, Henry Washington (1813-1884) to Francis Blair

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00919.15 Author/Creator: Benham, Henry Washington (1813-1884) Place Written: Virginia Type: Manuscript letter Date: 5 October 1863 Pagination: 4 p. Order a Copy

Clerically written to General Blair. Discusses the plan for seizure of Charleston, South Carolina, to be presented to Lincoln camp at Rappahannock. Written from the Camp at Rappahannock, likely in Virginia.

Beach, Elias William, 1841-1921

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