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.

Baird, G. W. (fl.1890-1900) to Edward R. Archer Esq.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01896.139 Author/Creator: Baird, G. W. (fl.1890-1900) Place Written: [Washington D.C.] Type: Typed letter signed Date: 16 October 1900 Pagination: 2 p. ; 21 x 13 cm. Order a Copy

Thanks Archer for the history he sent of the 42 pounder "Columbiad" cannon which sits in front of the State, War, & Navy Department Building as an ornament, asks if Archer is related to "Edward K. Archer" who resigned from the navy in 1860, compares the soldier of the Civil War to those fighting against America in the Philippines. "Whenever I look at that old 42 pdr gun, I wonder how they ever used it, for its preponderance is great. But the men who fired that gun were in terrible earnest, and not lacking in gameness nor ingenuity. There is a great difference between fighting such men as they were, and the little niggers in the Philippines." Letterhead on top of page 1 reads: "Office of Superintendent. State, War, & Navy Department Building."

Archer, Edward Richard, 1834-1918
Baird, G. W., fl. 1900
Archer, Edward Richard, 1834-1918

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