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.

Cranor, Franklin (fl. 1862-1865) to Delia Slocum

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03791.015 Author/Creator: Cranor, Franklin (fl. 1862-1865) Place Written: Marietta, Georgia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 3 July 1864 Pagination: 7 p. : envelope ; 20.7 x 27.2 cm Order a Copy

Written from the frontlines of the Atlanta Campaign Cranor reports that he has seen the worst of fighting, even more so than Stones River and Missionary Ridge. He wrote "that day was the first time ever I thought of getting killed in battel when we was fighting just to look and see men falling like they did." His company sustained heavy casualties: "we had 44 men I beleave, now we have twelve men for duty." He finishes on the topic of the photographs.

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