A handwritten, two-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles Alston, in which she worries about the state of Charleston and her family members amid the Civil War.
A handwritten, three-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles, in which she discusses the management of enslaved people at Beneventum plantation. She also briefly mentions reports of the military efforts of their sons, John Julius and Joseph, in the Civil War.
A handwritten, four-page letter from Joseph Alston to his father, Charles Alston, in which he tells him of his experience in a skirmish with a Union gunboat and updates him on the movement of other Confederate troops. He also discusses the spread of edema among enslaved people and them escaping to Union soldiers. In addition, he mentions the conditions at his residence and the spread of fever there.
A handwritten, four-page letter from William Alston Hayne to his uncle, Charles Alston, in which he requests Peruvian Guano or Rhodes Supplemental Phosphate of Lime to use as fertilizer. He also mentions the possibility of the Civil War dragging on for years and suggests that the Alston family build a cottage near his home in case of a sea invasion.
A handwritten, three-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles Alston, in which she describes the Union attack on Morris Island on July 10, 1863, and details her plans to leave Charleston the next day, including arranging a delivery of osnaburg fabric. She also states that Vicksburg has fallen.
