This collection contains three letters written by Matthias Harter, a soldier in Company C, 9th Iowa Infantry, to his wife, Sallie Hall Harter, during the American Civil War. In the first letter, written at Davenport, Iowa, on September 28, 1862, Harter requests many foodstuffs from home and describes swimming and bathing in the river with other soldiers. Writing from Rome, Georgia, on October 9, 1864, Harter conveys news of the recent Battle of Altoona Pass and of the declining reputation of General George McClellan ("McClellan stock is tumbling down every day.") He notes the cost of food among civilians and advises Sallie on things to buy and on the care of their children, then mentions, with somewhat suggestive language, his desire to give Sallie "one of those old fashioned baths." In a letter dated July 4, 1865, at First Division headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, Harter recounts General William Tecumseh Sherman's farewell address. He also announces that he should soon be home and cautions Sallie that he, like other veterans, has been changed by his wartime experiences. The collection also contains the first page of the July 27, 1864, edition of The Guardian of Independence (Independence, Iowa) featuring the text of a lengthy patriotic speech delivered by Rev. J. M. Boggs at the recent Independence Day firemen's celebration.