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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.

Moore, John (1826-1907) to Mary Moore Kelly

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04195.40 Author/Creator: Moore, John (1826-1907) Place Written: Vicksburg, Mississippi Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 2 February 1866 Pagination: 4 p. ; 24.7 x 19.7 cm. Order a Copy

He refers to the explosion of a steamboat on the Mississippi, killing 100 with many mutilated survivors, the third such accident this week. He comments on acquaintances in Bloomington.

After serving in the Utah War, Moore returned east, assigned to the Marine Hospital in Cincinnati until August 1862. As a newly promoted major, he transferred to the Army of the Potomac, assigned as medical director of the Central Grand division, where he participated in the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and in Chancellorsville as medical director of the 5th Corps. In June 1863 Moore became the medical director of the Department of the Tennessee, assisting in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Sherman's march on Atlanta, where he acted as medical director of the armies of Georgia, Tennessee, and Sherman's army, and was given the rank of lieutenant colonel and then colonel. Moore saw the end of the war in Missouri in St. Louis and Vicksburg.

Following the war Moore served two years at Fort Wadsworth and Fort Columbus in New York Harbor then practiced as a surgeon in the New York City area. After short stints in Europe, Virginia, Texas, Washington, and California, he was named Surgeon General in 1886. He retired in 1890 and continued living an active life in Washington, D.C. until his death in 1907.

Kelly is Moore's sister.

Moore, John, 1826-1907
Kelly, Mary Moore, 1819-1899

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