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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.

Heath, William (1737-1814) to John Burgoyne

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04764.46 Author/Creator: Heath, William (1737-1814) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 3 January 1778 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 24 x 18.2 cm. Order a Copy

Letter in response to GLC04764.45. Written by Heath, the American General in charge of the district where the captured British Convention Army was based, to General Burgoyne, the commander of the British troops in the Convention Army. Gives permission to David Geddes, the acting paymaster, to travel to Rhode Island to procure funds for the army. Says Geddes needs to come to him to get a passport. Says it is improper for Burgoyne to have a man-of-war pick him up to be returned to England. Says a normal transport will work just as well as a man-of-war, which he does not want entering the harbor, even under a flag of truce. Burgoyne eventually returned to England in April 1778.

Kingston, Robert M., fl. 1776-1779

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