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.

Lincoln, Benjamin (1733-1810) to John Thomas

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02498.07 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Benjamin (1733-1810) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 June 1775 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket ; 19.7 x 15.5 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln to Brigadier General Thomas. Says he is sending one load of tent poles and that he should "order them droped" where he wants. If all can't be used at Roxbury, asks they be sent to Cambridge. Written five days after the Battle of Bunker Hill and on the same day Congress prepared a list of Continental Brigadier Generals that overlooked Thomas. At the time, Thomas was an officer in the state militia. Washington hinted that Congress should fix the mistake, and when another officer declined his appointment, Thomas was selected. Thomas died of smallpox on 2 June 1776 after retreating from Montreal in May 1776. Dated from the Committee of Supply's chamber, whereabouts unknown.

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