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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.

Wheeler, Lysander (fl. 1837-1903) to his parents and sister

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07460.010 Author/Creator: Wheeler, Lysander (fl. 1837-1903) Place Written: Tunnel Hill, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1 January 1863 Pagination: 2 p. ; 23.5 x 19.5 cm. Order a Copy

Lysander recounts how they surrounded and ambushed a suspected secessionist's house during the night, only to find nothing. The secessionist claimed to be a Unionist but admitted his brother is in the Confederate Army and that there were things hidden on the plantation. Reports Lieut. Timothy Wells and Capt. Alexander Warner have been petitioned to resign by all of the officers. Wheeler explains that he signed the petition for Warner because Warner wanted Darius, Wheeler's brother-in-law, to sleep with his negro servant.

Lysander Wheeler, a farmer from Sycamore, Illinois, enlisted in the Union Army on August 7, 1862 as a private. He was mustered into Company C of the 105th Illinois infantry and later promoted to sergeant. Wheeler was mustered out on June 7, 1865.

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