A handwritten, one-page letter from James Simons to John Julius Alston in which he requests to see him to discuss an upcoming offer from the Washington Light Infantry.
A certificate appointing John Julius Alston to the post of Aide-de-Camp to the Brigadier General of the fourth Brigade Infantry with the rank of Captain on January 30, 1860. This was signed by William Henry Gist, William R. Huntt, William Alston Pringle, and James Simons.
A handwritten, one-page letter from James Simons to John Julius Alston in which he requests that John Julius find out which "members of the staff" will travel to Black Oak, a church in Berkeley County, South Carolina, and what arrangements need to be made for the journey.
A certificate naming John Julius Alston an attorney in the state of South Carolina on April 4, 1860, signed by John Belton O'Neall, Job Johnston, Francis H. Wardlaw, and Thomas J. Gantt.
A handwritten, one-page letter from James Simons to John Julius Alston in which Simons appoints him as his Aide-de-Camp, ranking Alston as Captain of the fourth Brigade Infantry.
A certificate naming John Julius Alston a solicitor in South Carolina on January 16, 1861, signed by John Belton O'Neall, Job Johnston, and Thomas J. Gantt. Chancellor Wardlaw was noted as absent. At the bottom, "United States of America" is crossed out and replaced by "Commonwealth of South Carolina."
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 Charles Alston to his sister, Mary Pringle, in which he explains John Julius Alston's journey to Richmond to see Governor Pickens and the Secretary of War about starting a new Company of Artillery. He presents this story to disprove claims made by William Bull Pringle.
A handwritten, six-page letter from William Alston Pringle to his uncle, Charles Alston, in which he defends his brother, Charles Alston Pringle, and his father, William Bull Pringle, amid the family controversy about Charles Alston Pringle's exclusion from the new Company of Artillery.
