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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.

Wilson, James Harrison (1837-1925) [Extract from Transcript Extra]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06107.36 Author/Creator: Wilson, James Harrison (1837-1925) Place Written: Peterboro, Georgia Type: Broadside Date: 14 May 1865 Pagination: 1 p. ; 18.2 x 8.6 cm. Order a Copy

Headlined "Jeff. Davis, His Staff, Family & Others, Captured!"
Written by Brevet Major General James H. Wilson for Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Says calvary under his command captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Says they will be kept in Macon for the night and then forwarded under a strong guard. Accompanied by two cartes de visite depicting Davis wearing woman's clothes. One is titled "The Last Ditch" (10.4 x 6 cm.) and depicts Davis lunging at a cavalryman with a knife. The other is titled "A Distinguished Arrival," (10.1 x 6.2 cm.) an ironic image showing a disguised Davis being checked into the "Hotel De Monroe" - Fortress Monroe - by a black soldier. A noose hangs in front of the door.

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885

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