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.

Thomas, John Lewis, Jr. (1835-1893) to Thomas Holliday Hicks

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00451.01 Author/Creator: Thomas, John Lewis, Jr. (1835-1893) Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 11 May 1861 Pagination: 8 p. ; 23.3 x 14 cm. Order a Copy

Thomas, Baltimore city solicitor, relates events that took place during the 19 April 1861 Baltimore Riot to Maryland Governor Hicks. States that General Charles Calvert Egerton falsely informed a mob that Hicks had issued orders that Union troops could not pass through Baltimore and that those soldiers already present should "be driven back by the people." Informs Hicks that upon hearing Egerton's statement, Thomas rushed to the office of Baltimore Mayor George M. Brown. Claims that Brown, who feared invasion from the North, ordered that "all the rail road tracks leading to the city should be torn of- and the bridges burned-"

Thomas Holliday Hicks served as Senator from Maryland 1862-1865.

Thomas, John Lewis, Jr., 1835-1893
Hicks, Thomas Holliday, 1798-1865
Brown, George William, 1812-1890
Egerton, Charles Calvert, 1816-1893

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