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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.

Drake, William (fl. 1782) [Private signals for British vessels to identify one another at sea by day and night]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.412.16 Author/Creator: Drake, William (fl. 1782) Place Written: s.l. Type: Manuscript signed Date: 13 November 1782 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 32.5 x 19.7 cm. Order a Copy

Provides very specific instructions for identification procedures. Written on board the H.M.S. Perseus. Written to Captain George Darby, commander of the sloop Pylades. Based on the command of Admiral Leonard Horner.

Darby, George, fl. 1720-1790
Drake, William, fl. 1782
Horner, Leonard, fl. 1782

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