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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.

Turner, Thomas (b. 1808) Divisional order

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08576 Author/Creator: Turner, Thomas (b. 1808) Place Written: Aboard USS "New Ironsides" off Charleston, South Carolina Type: Document signed Date: 16 May 1863 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 31.1 x 19.8 cm. Order a Copy

Signed by Commodore Turner. This copy of the order could have been sent to Captain Thomas H. Patterson of the USS "James Adger," as the docket says "Jas Adger." Demands great vigilance of the blockaders. Has received information on a large fleet of steamers at Nassau ready to run the blockade. Reports that 1 steamer and 5 sailing vessels escaped Charleston Harbor last night, and only 2 were captured. Says two nights earlier a steamer ran into the north channel of the harbor without a shot being fired at it. Claims that most ships that attempt to run the blockade do so at high tide, but that last night one slipped out at low tide.

Turner, Thomas, fl. 1863

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