The collection is comprised of letters written by six Civil War soldiers who served in Merrill’s Horse and one letter written by a relative of a soldier. The letters are arranged chronologically, most of which date from 1861 to 1862, with fewer letters written in 1863 and 1864. A large gap exists in which there are no letters from 1865 to 1912. The only letter written after the end of the Civil War is dated 1913. Thirty-two of the letters are written by Daniel Galusha “Gay” Harrington to his parents, Rev. and Mrs. Daniel Harrington; his sister, Eva; and to his brother, Joseph in Battle Creek, Michigan. Most of the letters describe camp life and his daily military routine. There is very little discussion of battles except in his 19 July 1862 letter (f.4) written from Memphis. On 25 January 1862, Harrington wrote to his brother about the death of Major Marshall (f.2). Harrington often mentions scouting and foraging missions (food for the horses), his clothing and boots, and the company’s prisoners as he recounted the daily activities that he had recorded in his journal. His letters trace the movements of Company H and also mention the locations of other companies in the regiment. Harrington’s last two letters in 1864 are written from Arkansas. Harrington lists non-commissioned officers in Company H in two letters: on 7 September 1861 (f.1) and on 22 December 1862 (f.4). He speaks of other soldiers that he knows from Michigan, such as Nathan J. Aikin, who wrote a letter to Rev. Harrington (10 November 1861, f.2) from St. Louis after Daniel left Camp Benton. There is one letter in the collection that was not written by a soldier. Jesse Harrington wrote one letter to his brother, Rev. Daniel Harrington, on 19 February 1862 (f.3). Mr. Harrington tells of Stephen and Andrew Harrington’s experience in the war. There are nine letters written by five other soldiers in Merrill’s Horse in this collection. Elijah Hubbard wrote one letter to his siblings in August 1861 informing them of conditions in Missouri and his recruitment duties (f.1). When he wrote the letter Hubbard was a First Lieutenant, by the time his service ended he was a Captain with Company F. Sergeant Joshua Bell of Company K wrote two letters to his sister, Mary Bell, in Cincinnati. He wrote the first letter from Camp Benton on 7 October 1861 (f.2) and the second from Warrenton on 4 December 1862 (f.4). Private George A. Holly of Company I wrote three letters to a friend, Rolling Alger, in New York. His first letter on 7 November 1862 (f.4) tells of camp life and training and how many fire arms the company has taken. Holly’s final two letters, 4 May 1863 and 18 January 1864 (f.5), cover topics such as General Hooker, the arrival of the 18th Regiment, and a girl he met in Quincy. Private James B. Miller of Company H wrote one letter to his brother and sister on 7 February 1863 (f.5) explaining that he was joining Company L with Captain Preston. He also shared news about mutual friends, Wesley and Charlie Clark. Finally, Captain George H. Rowell, who Daniel Harrington mentioned often in his letters home, wrote the only post-war letter to Harrington in 1913 (f.5).