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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.

Ellsworth, Elmer Ephraim (1837-1861) A Voice from Ellsworth

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03617.08 Author/Creator: Ellsworth, Elmer Ephraim (1837-1861) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Sheet music Date: circa 1861 Pagination: 1 p. ; 23.5 x 16.3 cm. Order a Copy

Dedicated to the New-York Fire-Zouaves. Published by H. De Marsan at 54 Chatham Street, New York. Has same image of flags drapping the sides as well as an image of a Zouave and a black slave that is at GLC03617.05, except this version is not hand-colored (the song at .05 is different). Includes seven stanza song. First stanza says: "A patriot's name will never die . . / the flame will ever burn . . / The last heard moan, the dying sigh / Is calling from the tomb."

Colonel Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth, a friend of Abraham Lincoln, was commander of the 11th New York Infantry, a unit of Zouaves from the New York City Fire Department. He was killed on 24 May 1861, attempting to remove a Confederate flag from the Marshall House, a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia.

Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861

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