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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.

Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) [Commission of Thomas Ward, Second Lieutenant in 1st Regiment Artillery]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00778.04 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Document signed Date: 1 April 1864 Pagination: 1 p. : vellum : docket ; 50 x 39 cm Order a Copy

Commission of Thomas Ward as a Second Lieutenant in the First Regiment of Artillery, beginning on June 11, 1863. Signed by Abraham Lincoln, countersigned by E. M. Stanton as Secretary of War. Docketed at top by Edward D. Townsend as Assistant Adjutant General, note reads "Recorded Volume 18 page 38 - Adjutant General's office, April 4, 1864". Features a paper seal from the Office of War and two patriotic scenes.

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