A handwritten, six-page letter from Joseph Alston to his sister, Susan Alston, in which he describes a large hurricane hitting Georgetown, South Carolina, which flooded many plantations and plantation homes.
A typed copy of a 1782 letter from Francis Marion to William Alston in which he orders him to take command of new companies to serve in Georgetown, South Carolina, and watch for incoming vessels.
A brief biography describing John Julius Alston's upbringing, education, time in the Confederate military, and ultimate death. This section is part of a larger report on graduates of Harvard College from the class of 1857.
A damaged handwritten, four-page letter from Joseph Alston to his father, Charles Alston, in which he relays his experiences in battle and foresees a speedy end to the Civil War. In an attached note, he also informs his father that Union soldiers raided a plantation in Santee, South Carolina, freed its enslaved population, and burned its buildings and crops.
