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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.

Patten, Thomas (fl. 1777-1785) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.01103 Author/Creator: Patten, Thomas (fl. 1777-1785) Place Written: New Windsor, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 31 July 1781 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 23.1 x 19 cm. Order a Copy

Patten, Captain of Artillery Artificers, reports details of work completed at New Windsor, including the building of wagon carriages, wooden bottoms (for artillery) and mortar carriages. Writes, "My Men are Very unease for want of Money, and more Unease about the men are absent and never been sent for, they think if they go that they never will be sent for, and say they Have as good write [sic] to be absent as others- whitch makes me thinks they will desert soon if something is Not done, about the Matter of geting the Deserters in that Belongs to the Company..."

Patten, Thomas, fl. 1738-1805
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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