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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.

Fairchild, Lewis D. (b. 1829) to Sephronia Fairchild

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.06.07 Author/Creator: Fairchild, Lewis D. (b. 1829) Place Written: Petersburg, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 10 October 1864 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; 18.1 x 22.8 cm. Order a Copy

Fairchild writes to his wife from camp outside Petersburg, Virginia. Mentions they are waiting for General Ulysses S. Grant to bring in reinforcements. Comments that his rheumatism is bothering him and he writes of a possible furlough in order to help his wife prepare for the winter. Expresses sorrow for the new recruits and what they will experience in "this cruel war." States that his hopes are high that the war will soon be over. The letter is four pages with a fifth page written vertically over existing writing.

Fairchild enlisted on 4 January 1864 at Exeter, New York as a private. He was mustered into "L" Co. New York 2nd Heavy Artillery.

Fairchild, Lewis D., 1829-?
Fairchild, Sephronia, fl. 1864-1865
Grant, Ulysses S., 1822-1885

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