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.

Johnston, Francis (1749-1815) to Persifor Frazer

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.457.09 Author/Creator: Johnston, Francis (1749-1815) Place Written: Princeton, New Jersey Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 19 July 1778 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 21 x 16 cm. Order a Copy

"I have escaped the clutches of old death with great difficulty." Is still weak but "I shall return to you soon" and resume active duty.

Francis Johnston was a Colonel in the Fifth Pennsylvania.
Persifor Frazer was a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Pennsylvania. A prisoner of the British from11 September 1777 until his escape 17 March, 1778. Later rose to the rank of Brigadier General of the Pennsylvania Militia.

Johnston, Francis, 1749-1815
Frazer, Persifor, 1736-1792

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