Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 70,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World to soldiers’ letters from World War II and Vietnam. Explore primary sources, visit exhibitions in person or online, or bring your class on a field trip.

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circa 1783

Tenney, Samuel (1748-1816)

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Deposition of Samuel Tenney]

Deposition by doctor Tenney, signed as "Sam. Tenny", describing the duties of an officer in relation to Mr. Pratt's arrest. Writes, "[A] commanding officer of a company having the temporary command of a battalion or garrison had no right or pretence, on that account, to divest himself of his proper command & to impose his duty on a subordinate officer." Mr. Wheaton, supposedly broke this rule in ordering Mr. Pratt to take over Wheaton's command, though Wheaton repeatedly denies this.

GLC02437.10197

circa 1783

Kirby, Ephraim (d. 1804)

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Testimony of Ephraim Kirby]

Testifies concerning the accusation against Lieutenant Wheaton for illegally turning over his command to Sergeant Pratt, a subordinate officer. States that Mr. Pratt, in "compliance with the Baron's [Steuben] wishes he would acknowledge that he ought not to have treated the order in the manner he did, and expect that Mr. Wheaton would concede on his part that the order was unmilitary - Mr. Wheaton refused." Watermarked.

GLC02437.10198

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