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.

Hodgdon, Samuel (1745-1824) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.01249 Author/Creator: Hodgdon, Samuel (1745-1824) Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 October 1781 Pagination: 2 p. + docket Order a Copy

Reports on the progress of ordnance being forwarded to Henry Knox. Mentions that some items left in Baltimore had been rejected by Major Sebastian Bauman. Comments on fixes made to munitions made by a Mr. Johnson that were cast without the necessary staples. Plans to send some of the repaired shells to Knox for approval. Indicates some specific items and their quantities that were already in transit. Claims that he has been working expeditiously and that he has done everything in his power to prevent a shortage. This ordnance transport was possibly one that Knox asked the Board of War & Ordnance to have Hodgdon superintend on 23 September 1781 (see GLC02437.01188). Hodgdon was the commissary general of military stores. The siege of Yorktown ended the day before this letter was written.

Hodgdon, Samuel, 1745-1824
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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