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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.

Bope, John (b. 1838) to unknown

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.03.05 Author/Creator: Bope, John (b. 1838) Place Written: Hardin County, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 25 April 1862 Pagination: 4 p. ; 19.9 x 23.7 cm. Order a Copy

Bope writes to a friend from the Battlefield of Camp Shiloh. Reports he survived the bloody Battle of Shiloh (6-7 April 1862) unharmed. Discusses the battle strategy in depth and the horror he felt: "...we had to step over the daed [sic] and mutilated bodies of Friend and Enemy..." Letterhead contains a drawing of Andrew Jackson with the phrase "Our Federal Union, It MUST be preserved."

John Bope enlisted on 14 August 1861 in Ohio as a private. He was mustered into "D" Co., Ohio 49th Infantry.

Bope, John, 1838-?
Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845

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