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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.

Morris, Wilmor W. (fl. 1861-1862) to: "Much Esteemed Friend."

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06451.047 Author/Creator: Morris, Wilmor W. (fl. 1861-1862) Place Written: Camp Windfield [Winfield] Scott near Yorktown, [Va.] Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1862/05/01 Pagination: 3 p. Order a Copy

Wilmor reports that "Niggerdom is a question that is talked over in camp verry much." The men think Congress had better find a way to pay the soldiers at the appointed times. He describes their line of defense, which is within a mile of the Confederates, on "the same ground that Washington had his armey on before the sur[r]ender of Cornwallis." He thinks the Confederates will be surprised when the Union cannons "open the[i]r mouthes an[d] begin to bark at them think of 2000 ball[s] an[d] shells per minut[e]" flying through the air.

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