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.

Wood, Matthew (fl. 1862-1865) to Sarah Wood

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02176.09 Author/Creator: Wood, Matthew (fl. 1862-1865) Place Written: Knoxville, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 13 November 1863 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.1 x 25.1 cm. Order a Copy

Written from around Knoxville, Tennessee to his wife. Mentions rebel citizens are rumored to be stealing soldiers' mail. Talks of new clothes, his battalion's shabby outfitting, hopes of buying socks for a dollar with his new pay. Mentions nearly freezing on picket duty and wearing his blanket as an overcoat. Says soldiers are also so hard up they steal, describing an event in which his revolver was stolen.

Matthew Wood served in the Ohio Ninth Cavalry with Burnside's army in Tennessee, and William T. Sherman's army at the burning of Atlanta and capture of Savannah.

Wood, Matthew, fl. 1861-1865
Wood, Sarah, fl. 1862-1865

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