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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.

Van Nuys, Samuel Watson [Collection of Samuel Watson Van Nuys, F company, 7th regiment, Indiana, infantry] [decimalized]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07687 Author/Creator: Van Nuys, Samuel Watson Place Written: [various places] Type: Header Record Date: 1861-1865 Pagination: 185 items Order a Copy

Includes over 110 letters to his parents with commentary on seeing Lincoln, commanding colored troops, baseball, etc.; with tintype photo of Van Nuys and 2 other officers.

Van Nuys was born in 1841 in Johnson County, Indiana. He enlisted in company F, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1861, and died in 1864 outside of Richmond, Virginia. Genealogist's records indicate that Van Nuys led a unit of African American soldiers in the course of his military service (information from Th Hopewell Journey: 350 Years from Immigrant Religion to Hoosier Faith, by Kathleen Van Nuys).

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