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.

Wood, Matthew (1862-1865) to Sarah Wood

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02176.11 Author/Creator: Wood, Matthew (1862-1865) Place Written: Knoxville, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 9 January 1864 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.1 x 23.9 cm. Order a Copy

Written from near Knoxville, Tennessee to his wife. Justifies war as a chastening from God for the nation's previous sins. Mentions Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty. Describes the comforts of God as a companion. Written on military stationery.

Matthew Wood served in the Ohio Ninth Cavalry with Burnside's army in Tennessee, and William T. Sherman's army at the burning of Atlanta and capture of Savannah.

Wood, Matthew, fl. 1861-1865
Wood, Sarah, fl. 1862-1865

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