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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.

Williams, Jonathan (1750-1815) [Request for John Biddle to report to Dr. Robert M. Patterson and join the Corps of Field Engineers]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02978.06 Author/Creator: Williams, Jonathan (1750-1815) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph note signed Date: 2 September 1814 Pagination: 1 p. ; 8.5 x 19.5 cm. Order a Copy

Biddle is identified as a member of the topographical engineers. Patterson had been appointed the chief engineer and organizer of the corps (see GLC02978.01) by the Philadelphia Committee of Defence. Williams signed this letter as "Chief Engineer."

Robert M. Patterson was a professor of natural and experimental philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Jonathan Williams was the chairman of the Committee of Defence .

Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815
Biddle, John, fl. 1814
Patterson, Robert M. (Robert Maskell)., 1787-1854

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