Sometimes the letters were written directly to the editor, in this case, of the Aledo Weekly Record. The letters were written by soldiers who could barely spell (and the spelling is retained in this book) and also by educated officers, including a brevet brigadier general.

Included is a letter from Edman Spangler, an accused conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Spangler was sentenced to prison on the Dry Tortugas and later died of consumption.