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.

Drayton, Percival (1812-1865) to John B. Marchand

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02680.24 Author/Creator: Drayton, Percival (1812-1865) Place Written: s.l. Type: Manuscript letter signed Date: 15 March 1864 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 24.7 x 19.5 cm. Order a Copy

Enclosing twenty copies [not present] each "of 2 circulars issued by the Bureau of Ordnance" with orders to distribute them to all the vessels on Marchand's station. Written on board the U.S.S. Hartford, of which Percival was captain, off Pensacola, Florida, during the Union blockade of major Southern ports. On "Western Gulf Squadron" stationery. Drayton was Fleet Captain to Farragut, who was commanding the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. As commander of the "Hartford," Drayton fought in the Battle of Mobile Bay. He was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Navigation the next year.

Percival Drayton was an officer in the United States Navy.
John B. Marchand was an officer in the United States Navy. He captained the steamer "Memphis" during the Paraguay expedition, served as Captain of the U.S.S. Lackawanna during the Civil War, later promoted to Commodore.

Drayton, Percival, 1812-1865
Marchand, John Bonnett, 1808-1875

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