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.

Johnson, D.C. (fl. 1912) to J. E. Boos, Esq.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05508.149 Author/Creator: Johnson, D.C. (fl. 1912) Place Written: Clinton, Indiana Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 19 March 1912 Pagination: 1 p. ; 28 x 22 cm. Order a Copy

Johnson discusses being raised in Illinois and enlisting in the army. On Lincoln, slavery and the Civil War, he writes: "No man has a higher opinion of Lincoln than I. He was the Good Lords [sic] instrument in destroying the greatest sin of this nation and his death was the last atonement for this National sin." Johnson was a member of the 25th Illinois Volunteer infantry, Company H.

Johnson, D.C., fl. 1912
Boos, John E., 1879-1974
Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

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