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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.

Thompson, W. S. (fl. 1862-1865) [Civil War pocket diary of W.S. Thompson]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01838.02 Author/Creator: Thompson, W. S. (fl. 1862-1865) Place Written: various places Type: Autograph manuscript Date: 1863 Pagination: 1 v. : 150 p. ; 12.2 x 8.7 cm. Order a Copy

Only a few entries for this year, mostly payment records for sailing and mentions of cashiering other people. 14 February: "Engaged with M. Buckner as Engineer of Steam ship Swanee [sic]…went to New York where ship was laying and returned." Wrap-around brown leather cover.

Thompson appears to have been mustered into service on May 29, 1861 from his hometown of Bristol, Pennsylvania. He joined the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment at Camp Washington. He seems to have left the army to join the United States Navy in 1862, serving as an engineer first on the "Sussana," and then the "Atlanta" in 1864-1865.

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