This collection contains photocopies of the American Civil War letters and journals of Henry Clay Trumbull, who served as chaplain in the 10th Connecticut Infantry during the Civil War.

The first letter in the collection, written by Trumbull from Charleston, South Carolina, on July 20, 1863, is addressed to an unnamed provost marshal and is in protest of being held a prisoner-of-war. Nearly all of the letters that follow are addressed to Trumbull's wife Alice. They commence with letters written from Columbia, South Carolina, with the first few letters describing Trumbull's capture and imprisonment.

Following his arrival in St. Augustine, Florida, to rejoin the regiment during its rest and recuperation there, Trumbull's letters focus on his activities as regimental chaplain, his acquaintances in camp, the activities of the regiment itself, his environs, and family matters at home. Beginning in April, 1864, Trumbull's letters follow the regiment's movements through eastern Virginia, and are written from Fort Monroe, Gloucester Point, Bermuda Hundred, North Bend, and Deep Bottom, at times finding himself on the field of battle and under fire. (As an illustration of his duties as chaplain, on August 10, 1864, Trumbull relates at length the capture and execution of Private Frank McElheney, a deserter from the 24th Massachusetts, whom Trumbull had offered counsel.) His later letters continue to follow the regiment's activities, being written from camps outside Petersburg and Richmond. The letters end on September 1, 1865, with Trumbull writing of his arrival in Hartford.

Trumbull's two journals cover much of the same subject matter as his letters home but in much greater detail. The journals commence with July 27, 1863, and continue through the end of 1864. Following the end of the second journal are various notations, including names and addresses, account expenditures, newspaper subscriptions, and the bookkeeping notes on the estate of Henry W. Camp.