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.

Ingalls, Rufus (1818-1893) to William Pitt Fessenden

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02464.09 Author/Creator: Ingalls, Rufus (1818-1893) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 April 1864 Pagination: 1 p. ; 20.7 x 26.7 cm. Order a Copy

General Ingalls writes to Fessenden, a United States Senator from Maine. Writes, "In my letter of today I probably should not have referred to the President at all, and beg you will excuse me- It is certain that Generals Hooker, Burnside and Meade wished to have me remain in the Qr. Mrs Dept" (referring to Generals Joseph Hooker, Ambrose Everett Burnside, and George Gordon Meade).

During the Civil War, Ingalls served as Chief Quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac 1862-1864. For the remainder of the War, he was Chief Quartermaster for all the armies operating around Richmond. Fessenden was Senator 1854-1869.

Ingalls, Rufus, 1818-1893
Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806-1869
Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879
Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881
Meade, George Gordon, 1815-1872

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