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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.

Archer, Edward R. (fl. 1830-1917) to his sister

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01896.079 Author/Creator: Archer, Edward R. (fl. 1830-1917) Place Written: Richmond, [Va.] Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 30 July 1865 Pagination: 60 p. ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Details Archer's life from his departure from London bound for Bermuda on June 13, 1864 to his return from Florida through the blockade on March 23, 1865. "...[I] made every narrow escape from, starving to death, and being eaten up by alligators..." Included in his travelogue are the ruminations undertaken by himself and several other Confederates through Bermuda, Havana, Florida's marshy coasts, through St Marks Tallahassee and Quincy to Albany and Macon before finally discovering the fate of the Confederacy. Numerous graphite additions have been inserted into the text in a hand rather similar to that of Archer, in an effort to edify several points of brevity or confusion.

Archer, Edward Richard, 1834-1918
Archer, Kate

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