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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.

Ewing, Philemon (1820-1896) to William T. Sherman

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03601.05 Author/Creator: Ewing, Philemon (1820-1896) Place Written: Lancaster, Ohio Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 7 October 1863 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.5 x 25.4 cm. Order a Copy

This letter is a draft copy of Philomen Ewing's final letter, GLC03601.06, as it contain crossouts. The text differs slightly. Ewing Consoles Sherman on the loss of his son. "He lived long enough to attain all that is of real value in human life - a passage to Heaven: and not long enough to taste the sorrows or bear the burdens which are inseperable from the happiest mortal life ... " Informs Sherman that their father, Thomas Ewing, has recovered from illness but that their mother is still very unwell. Written to Sherman in Memphis, Tennessee. Sherman's son, William T. Sherman, died in Memphis on 3 October 1863 of yellow fever.

Sherman was adopted by Thomas Ewing, an Ohio Senator and U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, after Sherman's father died in 1829. Philemon, Charles, Thomas, and Hugh Ewing were Thomas Ewing's sons and grew up as Sherman's adoptive brothers.

Ewing, Philemon, 1820-1896
Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891

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