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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.

Smith, Asa to mother

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03696.09 Author/Creator: Smith, Asa Place Written: Camp Hamilton, Hampton, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 October 1861 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.3x 12.7 cm. Order a Copy

to mother [Ann Smith] He thanks his mother for the food she sent. His regiment may move forward soon, and he hopes the Pennsylvanian troops are not put on picket duty as they are incompetent: "The soldiers of the 16th fear them more than they do the enemy." He sent ten dollars to Natick on the last payday. His men have named his tent the "Smithsonian Institute," although he says "(though I doubt if it does much for the arts and sciences)", and he is proud that he has the men's respect. Numbered in pencil "17."

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