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.

Ruffin, Edmund (1794-1865) to Henry J. Harrison

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02469.21 Author/Creator: Ruffin, Edmund (1794-1865) Place Written: Coggin's Point, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 14 April 1822 Pagination: 1 p. : address ; 29 x 19.4 cm. Order a Copy

Ruffin, a farmer and agriculturist, writes to Harrison, a lawyer. Discusses financial matters. Notes that he ordered the American Farmer for Harrison, and Harrison may pick up the magazine at Campbell's bookstore in Petersburg, Virginia. Writes, "I never was more necessary to, nor more pleased with my matters than at present; & I pay severely for every neglect: my trip to the coalpit coast be a covered drain of 320 yards..."

According to legend, Ruffin fired the first shot against Fort Sumter (at the beginning of the Civil War). He was an ardent supporter of states' rights and secession, and was described by opponents as a fire-eater.

Ruffin, Edmund, 1794-1865
Harrison, Henry J., fl. 1822

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