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.

Mason, Emily Virginia (1815-1909) to Henry Jackson Hunt

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02382.087 Author/Creator: Mason, Emily Virginia (1815-1909) Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 3 June 1870 circa Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.3 x 25.1 cm. Order a Copy

Year inferred from content. Thanks Hunt for offering her information, possibly related to her book on the life of Robert E. Lee. Mentions General Cooper (possibly Samuel Cooper), Lee's wife, her friend Mary Randolph Custis Lee, and General [Dunn?]. Mason's reference to the health of Lee indicates that this letter was written before Lee's death on 12 October 1870.

Hunt had served as Chief of Artillery for the Army of the Potomac. After the Civil War, he occupied various military posts. In the early 1870s, Hunt served at Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island. Mason published her book Popular Life of Gen. Robert Edward Lee in 1872.

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889
Mason, Emily Virginia, 1815-1909
Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870
Lee, Mary Custis, 1808-1873
Cooper, Samuel, 1798-1876

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