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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.

Shaw, John (fl. 1783) to William Heath

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.02360 Author/Creator: Shaw, John (fl. 1783) Place Written: New Braintree, Massachusetts Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 2 August 1783 Pagination: 1 p. : address ; 27 x 20.4 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Shaw, a soldier under Major General Heath. Shaw took a furlough beginning 22 June and he thought his unit would have been discharged by now. Since it is not, he is asking for an extension of his furlough because "the state of my Health will not admit of the Fatigue [of] a march to Camp[.] I having for some time been Exercised with a Dysentery." Below Shaw's letter is a signed note from Percival Hall, a physician in New Braintree, who confirmed Shaw's poor health. Hall seems to have written Shaw's portion of the letter, but Shaw signed it himself.

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