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.

Cunningham, John S. (d. 1894) to William McBlair

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00722.15 Author/Creator: Cunningham, John S. (d. 1894) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 October 1857 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Lists how many rations sailors are willing to give up, and how long the current rations will last at that rate. Written on board the U.S.S. "Dale," on the "Kongo River." John S. Cunningham was a purser in the United States Navy; he later rose to paymaster.

John S. Cunningham was a purser in the United States Navy, later rose to paymaster.
William McBlair was a United States naval officer in command of the ship "Dale," responsible for catching illegal slave trading ships off the coast of Africa. Later served in the Confederate Navy.

McBlair, William, ?-1863
Cunningham, John S., -1894

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