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.

Polk, James K. (1795-1849) Certificate of Merit

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04675.15 Author/Creator: Polk, James K. (1795-1849) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Document signed Date: 25 November 1848 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 25.6 x 41 cm Order a Copy

This document is a certificate of merit for Private Balser Horn, it is signed by James K. Polk as President and countersigned by William L. Marcy as Secretary of War. Private Balser Horn performed with distinguished service during the Battle of Cerro Gordo. Partially printed document with clerical docket of Adjutant General's office on recto.

Polk, James Knox, 1795-1849
Marcy, William L. (William Learned), 1786-1857

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