Collection consists largely of letters to Louisa Butler from her brothers, Dr. R. S. Butler, Altamount T. Butler, and Thomas C. Butler; dates chiefly from the Civil War period. All brothers served in the Confederate Army. Thomas C. died in the hospital of Camp Winder in Richmond on May 7, 1862. Altamount R. and R. S. both survived the war, although it appears R. S. died in 1874 of complicates from wartime injuries or exposure. R. S. Butler was a physician from Palatka, Florida. Louisa, her sister Clarinda, and their mother lived in Lawrenceville, Ga., and moved to Atlanta following the Civil War. The letters reveal conditions in army and civilian life during the Civil War, as well as document the family's poverty. The sisters and their mother depended on money sent by their brothers. R. S. Butler's letters also reflect conditions in the vicinity of Palatka, Florida, both before and after the war.
