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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.

Clark, Hank S. (fl. 1861-1865) to Frank

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.42.15 Author/Creator: Clark, Hank S. (fl. 1861-1865) Place Written: Memphis, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 August 1862 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; 24.8 x 19.6 cm. Order a Copy

Apologizes for not writing to him in such a long time. He has had a long journey and recounts his travels through Chicago, Illinois and many other towns. Writes of the many "eager applicants" he found at the draft office of Captain Christopher. Says that many of them are "shoulder strapped gentry." Writes of the conversation between him and Captain Christopher about needing transportation to rejoin his regiment [15th Illinois Infantry]. Captain Christopher did not have his uniform on and he added his name to a list of other soldiers who had been waiting to rejoin their regiments. Some of the soldiers had been waiting as many as 10 or 12 days to leave. He then went to the Warren House which served as a boarding home for soldiers. There he met several people he knew who were all quite drunk. From there the men left Chicago to go to Cairo, Illinois. The troops stayed at another boarding home for 40 cents a night and were fed "eight cents worth of moldy bread" by the old man whose home it was. States that the bed was oddly shaped and full of fleas. Writes that he is feeling well after his journey.

Franklin W. Fuller from Howard, Illinois enlisted on 14 August 1862 as a Sergeant. He mustered into the I Company of the Illinois 74th Infantry on 4 September 1862. He was mustered out on 10 June 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee.

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