15 letters, mostly relating to the outset of the Civil War and wartime. Letters are from both Confederate soldiers and Virginians who are frightened to see Yankees travelling through their land. Includes two letters from Giles D. Thomas to William Hoge; one criticizing Hoge for allowing himself to be taken by tories, and the other citing the outbreak of small pox which had spread into Blacksburg. Also includes a mournful letter from P.B. Snapp telling of the death of his son Johny, and a letter from Jane Hoge's mother Jestianna Strother which tells of the death of John M. Preston, as well as informing Jane Hoge that her brother has joined in the War Between the States.