This collection contains letters (photocopies of transcripts) of letters written to Winston family relatives--including Mary Harris Clark, of Campbell County, Virginia, and others--during the American Civil War. Most of the letters are from Charles Jones Winston, William Henry Harrison Winston, and Ambrose Winston, all serving with Virginia infantry regiments in the Confederate Army.

The 29 letters of Charles Jones Winston (Company G, 11th Virginia Infantry) comprise more than half of the collection. Commencing on July 9, 1861, in Centerville [Virginia], Winston's letters trace his regiment's movements through camps in Virginia and North Carolina. Among many other topics, he writes of picket duty, incidents in camp life, the deaths and woundings of mutual acquaintances, camp rations and other food, Christmas dinner, constructing quarters, and his efforts to secure a position in a cavalry regiment. He describes in detail the Battle of Williamsburg and his regiment's march through North Carolina. The final letter is dated March 8, 1865, at Chester Station [Virginia].

Letters from William Henry Harrison Winston (Company G, 11th Virginia Infantry) are also located in the collection and begin with a letter written at Centerville on August 15, 1861. Winston writes briefly of mutual acqaintances and life in camp, and soldiers absent without leave. On March 20, 1863, he writes from the hospital in Petersburg, being unable to march. Winston's two final letters are dated from Point Lookout [Virginia], on January 27, 1865, and discuss a recent death in the family.

Among the other correspondence in the collection are three letters written by Ambrose W. Winston (Company E, 58th Virginia Infantry) at Central Depot, Richmond (October 19, 1861); camp at Alleghany (January 4, 1862); and Elm Wood (December 30, 1863). Winston writes briefly of regimental movements and mutual acquaintances, and in the final letter, he discusses at length the need to find a place to care for his horse over the winter. Also in the collection are single letters from V. J. Butcher; (Miss) M. Clark; M. A. Dearing; Maria (Horton?); M. C. Massie; Lucy E. Winston; and Florence, a student at Wytheville Female College.

Also in the collection are copies of a four-page typescript narrative, "Reminiscences of the War," by William Henry Harrison Winston, and a page of genealogical information on the Pleasant and Elizabeth Clark Winston family.