This collection contains four letters written by William Henry Ruse, a private in Company E, 97th Ohio Infantry and Company I, 11th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps. Written between 1863 and 1865, the letters are all addressed to "Maggie" (Margaret "Maggie" Stewart). The first three letters were written from a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. On March 16, 1863, Ruse relates the contents of a recent dream of the war's end, then conveys news of mutual acquaintances and discusses the recent photograph taken of him. He notes that "I never see any ladies worth a cent and what I do see are all Rebels. I do think that Rebel women are worse than armed Rebels themselves!" In his letter of May 7, 1863, Ruse discusses his feelings for Maggie and the recent discharge of Maggie's brother, Nixon Stewart. Ruse writes of "Heaven, Home, and Mother" on November 1, 1863, and notes that he has been preparing the payroll. In the final letter, written from the headquarters of the 11th Veterans Reserves at Point Lookout, Maryland Ruse looks forward to his discharge and puts to rest Maggie's fear that he has fallen in love with a woman in Cincinnati, then praises the work of the Christian Commission. Accompanying the letters are a lock of hair and an envelope addressed to Maggie Stwart in Adamsville, Ohio.