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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.

Mahone, William (1826-1895) to E. F. Strickland

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04733 Author/Creator: Mahone, William (1826-1895) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 25 December 1886 Pagination: 3 p. ; 20.4 x 25.2 cm. Order a Copy

Mahone replies to correspondence from Reverend Strickland in Des Moines, Iowa. Notes that he has not forgotten Strickland's former request. Writes, "I would hope the God given Spirit of Liberty may never tire- not before, its blessings are freely enjoyed by the human race every where, and civilization has accomplished the fare measure of its mission: not until, man woman and child are free to enjoy the fruits of their own labor: It is that the sacrifices of blood, which a... Civil Contention between the sections of our great Country imposed, may duly be remembered as a contribution to freedom and the Common Glory of a reunited people..." Docket notes that this letter was received 29 December.

Mahone served as a Confederate General in the Civil War and a United States Senator from Virginia 1881-1886.

Mahone, William, 1826-1895
Strickland, E. F., fl. 1886

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