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.

Damuth, Dolphus (fl. 1839-1913) to Maria Damuth

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.14.79 Author/Creator: Damuth, Dolphus (fl. 1839-1913) Place Written: Kennersville, Louisiana Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 January 1865 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; 12.5 x 20.5 cm. Order a Copy

Writes to his sister from a camp outside of New Orleans. The soldiers often go into the city. Damuth is going to get photographs taken. Some of the men taken prisoner the year before at Red River are now in the city. Of one of them, Damuth writes, "he has suffered more than to die." Many of the men in prison died of starvation and exposure to the elements, but some men "found relation in the Rebel army" and were protected by family members.

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