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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.

Oden, Mary to Emily J. Semmes re: death of Gen. Paul Semmes (to his widow)

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07225 Author/Creator: Oden, Mary Place Written: Martinsburg Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 10 July 1863 Pagination: 5 p. 24.2 x 19 cm Order a Copy

Written from his deathbed nurse, on the day he died with postscript: "A few moments before the General died, he asked for his sword, laying it across his arm, he asked again for his testament." Page 5 is a smaller, additional sheet.

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