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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.

Knox, William (1756-1795) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03961 Author/Creator: Knox, William (1756-1795) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 14 August 1788 Pagination: 1 p. ; 31.7 x 19.7 cm. Order a Copy

Discusses a financial matter involving [William] Duer, [possibly Joseph] Peirce, [Richard] Platt, and Henry Jackson. Encloses a letter (not present) from the Marquis de Lafayette to St. John (possibly Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur). The letter was passed to St. John by George Washington and was accompanied by other papers discussing affairs of the Society of the Cincinnati (William does not include the other papers mentioned). Discusses financial transactions he apparently conducted on Knox's behalf, including payment of a reward for capturing a deserter from Lieutenant Kersey's troops (see GLC02437.03960). Transmits news of the Constitution and projected location of Congress: "Congress have undone yesterday all they had heretofore done with respect the Ordinance, and nothing today has been transacted on the business so that where they will next meet is uncertain. North Carolina has rejected the Constitution by a great Majority."

Knox, William, 1756-1795
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
St. John de Crèvecoeur, J. Hector, 1735-1813
Platt, Richard, 1755-1830
Peirce, John, 1750-1798
Duer, William, 1747-1799
Washington, George, 1732-1799
Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834

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