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.

Walker, Theodore L. (fl. 1857) to William McBlair

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00722.16 Author/Creator: Walker, Theodore L. (fl. 1857) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 October 1857 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 33 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Reports on his expedition to the H.M.S. "Myrmidon" and subsequent journey up the Congo river. Walker, a lieutenant on the U.S.S. "Dale," had been sent by McBlair in an armed boat to join the British vessel (which took them in tow) in its cruise for suspected slavers. They stopped several suspicious vessels (including the "Bremen"), but the British commander was in a hurry to return and, in McBlair's opinion, rushed the expedition. No ships were captured. Written on board the U.S.S. "Dale."

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
Walker, Theodore Lee, fl. 1857

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