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.

Townsend, Aurelia W. (1820-1885) to B. J. Lossing

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01836.02 Author/Creator: Townsend, Aurelia W. (1820-1885) Place Written: Oyster Bay, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 15 January 1861 Pagination: 4 p. ; 23 x 18 cm. Order a Copy

Indicates that she is sending two engravings of General William H. Winder to Lossing. Also suggests sources for Lossing's historical research on the War of 1812 and indicates that Mrs. Winder (Gertrude Polk Winder) is forwarding contacts to Townshend's mother. Hopes to exonerate General Winder of perceived errors in his defense of retreat from Washington, D.C., when the city was captured by the British in 1814. Lossing, an historian, published 'The American revolution and the war of 1812' in 1875. Townshend was clearly Winder's kin, but the exact relation is unclear.

Townsend, Aurelia W., 1820-1885
Lossing, Benson John, 1813-1891
Winder, William Henry, 1775-1824

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