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This collection contains material relevant to the Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, which took place on May 5, 1862 during the Civil War. Articles describing the events, photographs and sketches, as well as maps, are represented here.

Five prints from various publications depicting the Battles of Williamsburg and surrounding areas including Yorktown and Big Bethel during the Peninsula Campaign conducted by the Union Army and lead by General George B. McClellan in 1862. The prints are drawings showing Union and Confederate soldiers at battle, using barns as hospitals, and marching as they advance toward Richmond.

Papers of Richard M. Bucktrout, merchant and mortician in Williamsburg, Virginia. Includes correspondence, receipts, financial papers, records of soldiers killed at the Battle of Williamsburg and legal papers, dated 1855 to 1869. List of deaths at the Seminary Hospital from July to November 1861 in Williamsburg, Virginia and coffins made for soldiers dying in Williamsburg in July-August 1861.

Letter, 1891 March 24, Daniel Auty to "Silas." 1 p. ; 27 cm. Auty who served in the 11th Massachusetts infantry regiment mentions a [document ?] he picked up while stationed in Williamsburg after the Battle of Williamsburg, 5 May 1862. He also mentions the use of the College of William and Mary as a Confederate Hospital.

A letter from Darius N. Couch, Boston, Mass., to G. W. Reid[?], Esq., New York, New York, discusses Union commands and military maneuvers at the Battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. A typescript and an engraving of Couch are included.

Letters of Edwin Y. Brown, Union officer, to his family describing the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia., with a later manuscript reminiscence of the Peninsular Campaign.

Letter from Frank C. Park, an Union soldier, while in Williamsburg, to his family about the Battle of Williamsburg. He served with the 10th Massachusetts Regiment. He describes the fighting, the dead and the wounded. Typescript is included.

Diary, May 6-July 23, 1862, of Harriette Cary which concerns the occupation of Williamsburg, Va. by Union troops following the Battle of Williamsburg. 27 p. Also includes a partial transcription published in Tylers' Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Volume IX (1928) and reprinted by Kraus Reprint Corporation (1967) as well as correspondence with a descendant.

Manuscripts purchased in memory of Henry C. Hoar, a volunteer in the Manuscripts Department of Swem Library, College of William and Mary from 1966 to 1976. Includes letters, 1861, written to Jane Margaret (Winfree) Brown by Catherine Virginia Winfree concerning the coming of the Civil War and by Virginia A. Brown Winfree concerning the evacuation of Hampton which bears letter of C. V. Winfree concerning the vulnerability of the Peninsula; letters, 1861-1863, from Civil War soldiers such as John Willcox Brown of the Fourth Battalion of Volunteers concerning duty near Norfolk, John Thompson Brown of Richmond Howitzers describing Battle of Big Bethel, A. B. Tuttle of 142nd New York Regiment describing military movements in James City Co., Va., John H. B. Jenkins (of 40th New York) describing Battle of Williamsburg; letter, 1886, of Harrison Holt Riddleburger concerning Northwestern Literary and Historical Society; and letter, 1887, of Charles Triplett O'Ferrall concerning a speech on education.