While all Civil War letters offer a view into the charged climate of the years 1861-1865, collections of letters offer an excellent chance to observe an individual author's change over time. More than just a random thought or idea punctuated in time, a collection allows the browser to appreciate the author's evolution in feelings or point of view. The fuller insight provided by a collection can shed light on the larger context from which they write, and often explain the motives in between the lines on a page.

The designers of this site have been fortunate to have had access to several outstanding collections. These letters have been collected from both Franklin and Augusta Counties and offer a representative sample of both communities' soldiers at war. Below are the most outstanding of these collections, presented in full to offer insight over the course of the entire war.

Collections from the Valley of the Shadow The Henry Bitner Collection The Garber Collection

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