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This collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and documents of R. Henry Campbell and members of the Varner Family of Lexington, Virginia. The families are related through the marriage of Campbell's sister, Augusta, to Varner.

This collection contains a letter from Caroline 'Carrie' Victoria Ozias of Iowa to Sarah "Sallie" Rachel McQuiston from Ohio. Ozias gives an account of the significant military activities happening around her. She describes Confederate prisoners, and details the United States Colored Troops who were guarding them. She also writes about Camp McClellan, where nearly three hundred Dakota or Lakota members were imprisoned. She reports on the riots who are resisting the draft as well as raids and a political rally at Rock Island City

This collection contains an albumen photograph of a Union wagon camp in Virginia during the Civil War from the Washington D.C. studio of Mathew Brady. Brady was one of the earliest and most famous photographers in American history. He is best known for his scenes of the Civil War. He often photographed Black soldiers and laborers during the war, mostly in Union or contraband camps. The present image documents for posterity a number of Black soldiers and laborers working towards a Union victory in the Civil War, a watershed moment in the history for African American people.

This collection contains a receipt log (18"X22") of provisions given to the African American infantry during the Civil War. The top of the document states that 'WE, the undersigned Non-commissioned Officers, Artificers, Musicians, and Privates, of [Co "F" 117th U.S. C.S.], do hereby acknowledge to have received of [Capt Riley I. Griffith] the several articles of clothing set opposite our respective names." There are about sixty-five names listed. The receipt includes the date of issue (Dec. 30, 1864), name and designation of the soldier, the types of clothing (privates, trousers, flannel shirts, caps, rubber pouches, and blouses, etc) with signatures of the recipients, and the witness signature of Robert B. Parker, 1st Lt. On the verso is printed "Statement exhibiting the allowance of clothing to each soldier during his enlistment ... as established by the Secretary of War."

This collection contains four letters from a formerly enslaved person, Virgil M. Ward to his former Philadelphia employer, Edward Morris Davis, referred to as "Dear Friend " in the letters. Ward was born in Virginia in 1827, and it is unknown how he escaped enslavement. He worked in Philadelphia for Davis at $15.00 per month from April 1st, 1855 to April 13th, 1857. He moved to Ypsilanti, then Canada, and finally to Michigan.