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Based on information gathered by Special Collections staff in 2011, there appear to be three possible creators of the ledger: William Tandy Burrus (1766 or 1776-1831), WTB (?-prior to 1836?), or William Stevens (1773-1843).

Letters, September 1862 through October 1864, from Captain William Taylor, a soldier in the Pennsylvania Regiment during the American Civil War. The letters were written from camps in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, and Maryland to his wife Jane McKnight Taylor. Included are his descriptions of the Battle of Fredericksburg, the shelling of Vicksburg, the fighting, retreat, and siege outside of Knoxville, the siege of Petersburg, and the Petersburg mine explosion and assault.

Daybooks, 1853-1899, of William T. Downs, tanner of Wardensville, Hardy County, West Virginia and Port Republic, Rockingham County, Virginia.

Letters of William Tell Cobb (1840-1913), of Mauricetown, New Jersey, and his brother, Edwin Cobb (b. 1838), also of Mauricetown, New Jersey. William Cobb participated in the battles of Fair Oaks and 2nd Manassas while in the Army, and the battle of Fort Fisher while in the Navy; he describes these battles in his letters. Edwin Cobb provides an eyewitness account of the battle between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac". Other topics dealt with in the letters are camp conditions and everyday life in the Army and Navy, interaction between Union and Confederate soldiers, and the financial difficulties faced by William Tell Cobb and his family during the war. The collection also includes a photo of William Tell Cobb, his copy of "The Soldier's Guide" and a collection of typescripts of the letters

The William T. Hardy papers consist of drawing exercises (bound notebook and unbound drawings) completed while Hardy was a VMI cadet, and one Civil War letter (dated May 12, 1864) to his wife, in which he briefly discusses battle at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia.

The William T. Poague papers consist of the papers (approximately 75 items) of Poague. The papers include the handwritten manuscripts of his Civil War memoirs, written in 1903 (later edited and published as the book "Gunner with Stonewall"). Also included is general correspondence related to Poague's membership in Confederate veteran's organizations, battery rolls, and other documents.

This collection consists of five letters documenting Civil War cadet life (dated October 1863 to May 1864) written by Cadet William T. Yarbrough, VMI Class of 1867. The letters, addressed to his parents, include references to academics, uniforms, flirting with local girls, and family concerns. The letter dated May 18, 1864 briefly mentions the fact that the Corps had engaged in the battle at New Market, Virginia, but does not contain substantive information about the battle.