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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.

Townsend, Edward Davis (1817-1893) to Benjamin Franklin Butler

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07200 Author/Creator: Townsend, Edward Davis (1817-1893) Place Written: Washington, D. C. Type: Letter signed Date: circa 7 March 1873 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 24.8 x 19.5 cm. Order a Copy

Townsend, United States Adjutant General, replies to a letter from Butler, who served as a General in the Civil War. Informs Butler that in the Civil War, 7,122 African American men served as officers, and 178,975 served as enlisted men, for a total of 186,097. Docketed by Butler, who states that James A. Cunningham, Adjutant General of Massachusetts, had requested the information Townsend supplied. Also docketed 11 March 1873 by Cunningham, who states that the information was transmitted to Massachusetts State Representative J. B. Smith. Includes an Adjutant General's Office stamp. Written on United States Adjutant General's Office stationery.

Butler served as a United States Representative from Massachusetts 1867-1874 and 1877-1878.

Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893
Cunningham, James A., fl. 1873
Townsend, E. D. (Edward Davis), 1817-1893
Smith, J. B., fl. 1873

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