Our Collection

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.

Livingston, John W. (1804-1885) to William McBlair

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00722.11 Author/Creator: Livingston, John W. (1804-1885) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 16 June 1857 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 33 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Ordering McBlair to sail to Porto Praya and await further orders. Also orders him to deliver enclosed orders to Commander Thompson. Written on board the U.S.S. "St. Louis" in Funchal Bay, Madeira. John W. Livingston was then a United States Naval officer and the senior commander of the African Squadron; he reached the rank of rear admiral in 1868. His father was the famous naval officer William Turk, but John changed his surname to Livingston in 1843.

William McBlair was a United States naval officer in command of the ship "Dale," responsible for catching illegal slave trading ships off the coast of Africa. Later served in the Confederate Navy.
John W. Livingston was the a United States Naval officer and the senior commander of the African Squadron. His father was the famous naval officer William Turk, but he changed his surname to Livingston in 1843.

Livingston, John William Turk, 1804-1885

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