This collection contains photocopied typescripts of the American Civil War letters of Horace B. Hooker, a lieutenant serving in the Engineer Company of the West. Hooker's letters, all addressed to his wife, commence on November 12, 1862, with Hooker at St. Louis, preparing to join his new regiment at Jackson, Tennessee. Soon, Hooker is writing from various camps in Tennessee and Mississippi, describing his work repairing the Memphis and Charleston Railway, and sharing his observations on day-to-day activities and the war's progress. He expresses strong opinions on nearly every aspect of the war, including local guerrillas, northern Copperhead Democrats, the Emancipation Proclamation, regiments of Black soldiers, and in favor of abolition. Hooker also complains of the conduct of the war and engages in diatribes against fellow soldiers for being lazy, incompetent, subject to rumor-mongering or worse. In these early letters, Hooker also frequently mentions the prospects of profiting from cotton- and land-speculation. Hooker discusses operations on Bayou Baxter and Bayou Macon; frequent encounters with local sympathizers--both Confederate and Union--are mentioned, and a number of experiences in foraging are described. An overarching topic among the first year's letters is the prospect for a leave of absence or an opportunity for his wife to visit camp (a desire that came to fruition in November 1863, explaining a November 1863-February 1864 gap in the letters). Beginning in April, Hooker writes primarily from Waverly and Johnsonville, Tennessee, west of Nashville. In August 1864, Hooker's regiment is ordered to the front in Atlanta, and the lieutenant writes of witnessing the battle of Jonesboro. Hooker also describes conditions around Atlanta and his own work in conducting a survey of the city's fortifications. Throughout the summer and fall, much of Hooker's letters are devoted to the anticipated mustering out of his company. The final letter is dated October 30, 1864.

Accompanying the letters are the photocopied typescript reminiscences of Hooker's wife, Susan H. Hooker. Written in 1907 as a project for the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter, Hooker's reminiscences describe pre-war political sentiments in the Rochester, New York area and of being married the same day that her husband departed for the war. She mentions numerous men who joined the army from Rochester and recounts her husband's war activities. Hooker writes of returning south with her husband following his furlough, and she describes her experiences in--and the conditions of--Vicksburg and Nashville.