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.

Laurens, Henry (1724-1792) to William Barton

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00302 Author/Creator: Laurens, Henry (1724-1792) Place Written: Yorktown, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 June 1778 Pagination: 1 p. ; 32 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Writes as President of Continental Congress to Colonel Barton. Asks him about his wound and his general health. Encloses Gazettes (not included). Mentions that the British have abandoned Philadelphia but that 3000 of their troops have gone down the river or camped near Haddonfield and Cooper's Ferry. Notes vertically in a post script on the left side of the page that General Benedict Arnold has been appointed to command in the city of Philadelphia by General George Washington.

Barton had been severely wounded in the American defeat in the Battle of Long Island, August 1776.

Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792
Barton, William, 1748-1831
Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801

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