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.

Bates, Edward (1793-1869) to G. Welles

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02490.01 Author/Creator: Bates, Edward (1793-1869) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 February 1862 Pagination: 1 p. ; 18 x 23 cm. Order a Copy

The recipient is possibly Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy. Bates, United States Attorney General, asks Welles to return an essay by Mr. Binney (possible Horace Binney) on the suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus. States "The work is in great demand, & somebody has hooked my last copy." Relates that he has been ill for several days.

Binney served as a United States Representative from Philadelphia 1833-1835.

Bates, Edward, 1793-1869
Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878
Binney, Horace, 1780-1875

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