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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.

Semmes, Paul Jones (1815-1863) to Emily J. Semmes

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00458 Author/Creator: Semmes, Paul Jones (1815-1863) Place Written: Martinsburg, Virginia Type: Note signed Date: 9 July 1863 Pagination: 1 p. ; 8 x 19 cm. Order a Copy

Describes how he was severely wounded in Gettysburg: "Wounded severely. Main danger over. Remain at home. Will write." Semmes signed this note one day before dying of a gunshot wound to the leg received at Gettysburg.

Semmes was a Georgia banker and plantation owner. He served as colonel of the 2nd Georgia in the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the war and was promoted to brigadier general in March 1862. He was assigned to a brigade in McLaws' division of Longstreet's corps fighting in Crampton's Gap, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Gettysburg, where he was mortally wounded.

Semmes, Paul Jones, 1815-1863

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