During the war, the ligaments which connected home and battlefront were tightly stretched as soldiers traveled far away from home and experienced a life they had never known. Writing letters home provided a mechanism to maintain those connections and to transport soldiers back to loved ones and familiar places. Letters, as well as diaries, were an outlet of expression for the range of events experienced by the soldier, from long days in camp to horrors of the battlefield, as well as the pain and loneliness they felt from being away from home.

While mail was greatly desired on both fronts during the war, correspondence was often very difficult. Especially in the South, it was sometimes a challenge even to find paper and pen. Mail service was slow at best, and soldiers often relied on furloughed soldiers and visitors to camp to deliver their letters back to their homes. Time to write was often limited as well, as soldiers spent weeks at a time marching and fighting.

Soldiers longed to receive letters from home, as they were starved for information about family, friends, and local events. Many letters conclude with pleadings for quick replies and information. A letter from A.H. Byars to his sister illustrates how much mail from home was desired: "Please excuse this short, badly written and disconnected letter and write soon, very soon and give me all the news...excuse haste and write soon." Soldiers often wrote about what they wanted to hear, asking questions about particular family members or local issues. After long paragraphs asking questions and wondering about home, many letters would briefly state that there was not much news to report where they were.

Letters, in addition to asking about events from home, contained detailed descriptions of what aspects of home the soldiers were missing. In a letter to his brother, A.W. Kersh writes at length about acquaintances from home that he has seen and any news that they have reported. Soldiers wrote about how much they would like to return home and see the people they love. They missed not only people, but particular events or characteristics of their pre-war lifestyle. Sometimes these were very simple things, such as Pennsylvania water as described by John J. Miller. Similarly, in his diary Gallaher reflects about indulging in whiskey and eggnog while he was at home over Christmas. Other times, soldiers mention abstract themes, such as freedom. In a letter to his cousin Kate, James R. McCutchan describes what he misses about home: "Here I am now cut off from my friends and all that is dear to one from society & enjoyment of every kind. How often I think of the past when I was free as the little birds that sing their songs among the branches. I did not know how to appreciate home, friendship, society, pleasures or anything else then but now I can see when I am cut off from all these blessings." These letters were a way to reconnect with those missed at home, and to keep in mind the joys of home in the face of the death, boredom, and harsh conditions with which they were dealing.

One particular aspect keenly missed by the soldiers was the ladies from their home towns. They describe how much they long for the sight or company of a woman. Soldiers often ask about particular ladies, and request that regards be given to them. Sometimes they just write more generally about missing women, as James R. McCutchan laments, "Here I never see the face of a woman. 'Ah woman - those whose form and whose (illegible word) are the light & the life of each path we pursue; Whether warmed at the tropic, or chilled at the pole, If woman is there, there is happiness, too.'" Again, the letters were a way for the soldiers to express their thoughts about the things they missed from home.

Contrasted with the harsh realities of war, letters to loved ones, especially wives and sweethearts, were strikingly tender. The letters were a reminder of the sentiments felt by the soldiers, and a way to focus on something other than the war. The Lucius Mox collection contains several letters to his sweetheart, Jennie, in which he makes many references to his feelings for her and his hopes for their future. He tells her, "Now, Jennie, you have heard what I have long wished to say I love you as truly as a man can love and ... if you will concent to become the wife of this 'ugly, mean, rascal' you will make me the happiest man in the Yankee Army." Letters from soldiers to their wives also reflect a desire to be home. P.H. Powers writes to his wife: "A little stove keeping [our tent] warm, but not as comfortable as by your side. No other place can be. I miss you. how I long to be with you again." Letter-writing allowed soldiers to mentally transport themselves to the life and places they loved. Thinking about home and the loved ones there, and writing about those thoughts, was a way for the soldiers to reconnect with the familiarity of home in the strangeness of war.