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.

Cotton, Theophilus (fl. 1767-1777) to Joseph Spencer

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01412.63.02 Author/Creator: Cotton, Theophilus (fl. 1767-1777) Place Written: Camp at Tiverton, Rhode Island Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1777 October 26 Pagination: 2 p. ; docket; 21 x 18 cm. Order a Copy

Reports to Major General Joseph Spencer that some boatmen refused to obey orders in a "mutinous manner". Cotton asks that Spencer try the men because the crime is of too high a nature for him to try them himself. The men's names are included in the letter. The verso of the letter contains instructions on how returns should be made.

Cotton, Theophilus, fl. 1767-1777
Spencer, Joseph, 1714-1789

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