This collection contains the papers of John Preston Sheffey, an attorney, judge and Confederate cavalry officer from Smyth County, Virginia. Included are such items as correspondence, journals, military documents, printed materials and ephemera.

Comprising the majority of the collection, the correspondence consists mostly of letters written by Sheffey to his wife, Josephine Spiller Sheffey, during the Civil War. Sheffey's early letters are devoted largely to personal matters, particularly his courtship with Josephine. His war-time letters also chronicle the establishment of Company A of the 8th Virginia Cavalry and its role in the war. General observations on military matters and social conditions are included as well, as Sheffey writes from various camps in western Virginia and later from the military prison at Camp Chase, Ohio. Scattered throughout the correspondence are a few letters from other friends and relatives--particularly Sheffey's sisters Margaret and Ellen. Like Sheffey's correspondence, these letters (approximately 15 in number) also relate largely to personal matters and the war's progress. Together with the original correspondence are photocopies of selected letters.

The collection also contains the texts of three speeches, likely delivered by James W. Sheffey, on the 1848 presidential election and intemperance. Two bound volumes of John Sheffey's own writings are included as well. The first, available in the collection only as a photocopy, is a journal spanning three months in 1855. Recorded in its entries are weather conditions, book readings, sermons attended, and other daily activities. Sheffey also writes of local and state political affairs and mentions such incidents as the flogging of a local enslaved person for marrying without consent, the murder of W. H. Spiller in Wytheville, and a fire. Included also are three recipes and various newspaper clippings, largely relating to Reconstruction politics. The second volume is a copy book spanning the years 1855 to 1860 and containing various compositions penned by Sheffey on such diverse topics as "Spain, Her Chivalry and Shame," "America and Greece: the Living and the Dead," "Creation," and "Virtue: the Best National Safeguard." (Perhaps most significant among the essays is Sheffey's "Can the Union be Dissolved," in which the writer takes a very strong pro-Union position.) Included also are texts of speeches delivered at Emory & Henry College and the University of Virginia, together with a few poems.

Representing Sheffey's service in the 8th Virginia Cavalry is a small set of documents, including two muster rolls, a court-martial specification of charges against Private H. F. Gullion, a leave of absence granted to Sheffey, a letter of transfer for Private James P. Mantz, and a letter from Sheffey to General Echols, requesting a pass for his wife to Greenbrier.

Included among the printed materials are various newspaper articles about the Civil War in Southwest Virginia and a 1921 article about Betty Blount, a formerly enslaved person. Also included here is an 1868 invitation for a Calliopean Society program at Emory & College.

Completing the collection is a set of general materials, including a Civil War poem by Sheffey, certification of Sheffey's election as judge in 1894, and several calling cards.