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.

Marchant, Henry (1741-1796) to Joseph Clarke

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.104.02 Author/Creator: Marchant, Henry (1741-1796) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 30 August 1779 Pagination: 3 p. ; 20 x 16 cm. Order a Copy

Discusses two lost bundles of money, and states that Mr. Hopkinson needs all the information about the matter so he can present it to the Treasury fairly. He has heard the Penobscot expedition has failed and that the American fleet was burned. Comments that Continental forces will not falter under the disappointments but will seek vengeance. Letter is not addressed but recipient is inferred from context (refer to GLC1450.104.01).

Marchant was a member of the Continental Congress from Rhode Island. Clarke was the Treasurer of Rhode Island. The Penobscot expedition, 19 July-24 August 1779, was a failed attempt to drive the British from present-day Maine (then Massachusetts).

Marchant, Henry, 1741-1796
Clarke, Joseph, 1719-1792

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