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.

Oswald, Eleazer (1755-1795) to Henry Knox

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03587 Author/Creator: Oswald, Eleazer (1755-1795) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 23 June 1787 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 23 x 18.5 cm. Order a Copy

Asks to see a copy of a letter Samuel Shaw sent Knox regarding his dispute with a Captain John Green in Canton (now Guangzhou, China) since "[o]ther Americans, as well as Major Shaw, I find have been involved in disagreeable controversies with Capt. Green ... " Other people's accounts "render Capt Green quite odious and contemptible - but his Employers have prevailed on him to suppress them, at least for the present." States that he would like the letter to help his friend, Captain Thomas Truxtun, to "satisfy his Owners, that he was not the Aggressor in Canton."

Oswald was the editor to the Independent Gazetteer, or the Chronicle of Freedom, an Anti-Federalist newspaper based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Independent Gazetteer started off with a conservative stance, seemingly supporting the ratification of the Constitution in place of the Articles of Confederation, but later became the leading Anti-Federalist newspaper publication. At the same time Oswald also conducted in New York The Independent Gazetteer, or New York Journal, from 1782-1787.

Oswald, Eleazer, 1755-1795
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Shaw, Samuel, 1754-1794
Green, John, 1730-1793
Truxtun, Thomas, 1755-1822

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources