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.

Lee, Sydney Smith (1802-1869) to John McIntosh Kell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00684.15 Author/Creator: Lee, Sydney Smith (1802-1869) Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Letter signed Date: 24 March 1865 Pagination: 1 p. ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Grants Kell leave until the first of May, "when you will report in writing to this Office the condition of your health." Forwarded by Surgeon James Harrison. Written on stationery of the C.S. Navy's Office of Orders and Detail.

Kell was on this leave for illness when Robert E. Lee surrendered on 9 April 1865.

Lee, Sydney Smith, 1802-1869
Kell, John McIntosh, 1823-1900

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