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.

Hunter, R. M. T. (Robert Mercer Taliaferro) (1809-1887) to John Letcher

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02469.08 Author/Creator: Hunter, R. M. T. (Robert Mercer Taliaferro) (1809-1887) Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 May 1861 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 25.3 x 19.2 cm. Order a Copy

Hunter writes to Letcher, Governor of Virginia. Relates that John Preston, son of Colonel John M. Preston, hopes to obtain a commission in the Army of Virginia. Writes, "Virginia is the nation state of his father & he wishes to retire to it- He is an educated young gentleman anxious to serve Virginia in a military capacity..." Docket notes that John Preston lives in South Carolina.

Among other political posts, Hunter served as a United States Senator from Virginia 1847-1861, Confederate Secretary of State 1861-1862, and State treasurer of Virginia 1874-1880.

Hunter, Robert Mercer Taliaferro, 1809-1887
Letcher, John, 1813-1884
Preston, John, fl. 1861
Preston, John M., fl. 1861

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