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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.

Milroy, Robert Huston (1816-1890) to Joseph W. Keifer

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03215.01 Author/Creator: Milroy, Robert Huston (1816-1890) Place Written: Olympia, Washington Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 17 January 1888 Pagination: 4 p. : 25.5 x 21.5 cm. Order a Copy

Complains of the inequities in pension payments between volunteer officers and officers in the regular army, and hopes to change the system. Informs Keifer, who also served as a General in the Volunteer Army, that any officer who received a commission in the Regular army receives a large pension, regardless of their merit, while every volunteer officer receives a very tiny pension, regardless of their merit. Milroy proposes a plan where all those who served meritoriously, whether in the regular or volunteer army, are rewarded with a good pension. He believes that Congress can be convinced to adopt this plan, if Keifer and other volunteer officers press for such a change. Encourages Keifer to do all in his power to fight for better pensions for volunteer officers.

Joseph W. Keifer was a Union General of Volunteers.
Robert H. Milroy was a Union Major General of Volunteers.

Keifer, Joseph Warren, 1836-1932
Milroy, Robert Huston, 1816-1890

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