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The Louisa Reed papers consist primarily of letters to Enos Reed, of the 34th Iowa Infantry in the Civil War, from his wife, Louisa, and other relatives and friends.

The Louisa Reed papers consist of 53 letters, spanning 1863-1894, with the bulk concentrated around 1863-1865. Louisa wrote 40 letters to Enos, all but 2 during his Civil War service; Enos wrote 1 letter to his daughter, "Ollie," in 1864; Enos' mother, Asenath Long, wrote 3 letters to her son; and other family members and friends contributed an additional 9 letters.

Louisa Reed's correspondence to her husband provides news from home, updates on Olive's activities and development, and observations on the war and on maintaining their home by herself. In nearly every letter, she devoted an affectionate paragraph to Olive's "mischief" and the new ways of playing the child had discovered. Reed also frequently referred to family members and neighbors, recounting her visits to them, but intimated that she sometimes felt "lonely in company" (January 4, 1863). Throughout her correspondence, she showed herself to be astute in management of the home and farm, frequently broaching the idea of selling off livestock and buying land before the end of the war, when she believed that land would become more valuable.

Although Reed's correspondence more frequently addresses personal than political topics, it documents tensions in Belinda over the validity of the war, with frequent references to the Copperhead movement. On February 7, 1864, Reed wrote that war supporters had threatened to tar and feather a particularly vocal Copperhead. She also briefly described fundraising efforts at a "union meeting," and expressed her support for the Union cause. In another letter, she criticized men who both opposed and profited from the war (November 13, 1864).

The conflict over the war is further dramatized by several letters from Asenath Long to her son, who, according to Louisa, attended "every meeting of that kind [Copperhead] within fifteen miles" (January 15, 1865). In Long's correspondence, she expressed her anti-war sympathies and her strong feelings against African Americans: "if it was not on the account of the Negro we could have peace now … if I have raised sons to die for the Negro I shal [sic] go with sorrow down to my grave … " (August 7, 1864). Letters from other writers provide family and neighborhood news, and several letters document the Reeds' movement around the Midwest after the war.

The Orson D. and Mary L. Johnson papers contain letters of Civil War soldier Orson Johnson to his wife from August 29-December 28, 1862, during his service in the 22nd Wisconsin Volunteers and during his stay in a military hospital.

The Orson D. and Mary L. Johnson papers (35 items) contain 27 letters between Orson Johnson and his wife Mary from August 29-December 28, 1862, while he served in the 22nd Wisconsin Volunteers. Also included are 4 items from other family members and another Wisconsin Infantry service member, a photograph of Mary Johnson, and 2 poems clipped from a newspaper.

The letters between the Johnsons are tender, though Orson often complains of not receiving enough letters from his wife. Mary's letters provide a view of the hardships of trying to care for two children as a single mother living in Wisconsin. Orson tries to offer advice on how to manage the household and finances and is sympathetic to her difficulties. The letters offer little information related to military activities but reveal the mental and physical toll the war is taking on the family. In Orson's later letters, he discussed getting wounded, hospitalized, and discharged in early 1863 because of a disability. Orson first mentioned his time in a military hospital in November 23, 1862, and a friend wrote a letter for Orson on December 8, 1862, because he was not well enough to compose it himself. By December 18th he was well enough to write again but was discharged soon after.

This collection also holds one letter from Maria H. Stone to her brother, Orson D. Johnson and an item from H.L. Stone and O.D. Johnson to their "Dear Uncle." The final two dated letters are from privates in Co. G of the 43rd Wisconsin Infantry, one of them signed William L. Shumway, both addressed to siblings (1865). The last dated letter concerns some thoughts on Lincoln’s recent death and the end of the war (April 28, 1865). Both the 22nd Regiment, of which Orson was a member, and the 43rd Regiment were in the Army of the Cumberland at the time that these letters were written, though in different brigades. It appears that both of these regiments were involved in the defense of Nashville and the surrounding area in early 1865, making it possible that the soldiers' paths crossed.

This collection also contains a photograph of a Mary L. Johnson and two poems entitled The Wife of the Volunteers andThe American Girl , both clipped from newspapers.

The collection contains two illustrations. The letter from September 18, 1862, has a blue patriotic "head quarters" stamp depicting an eagle, a flag, and bayonets. The letter from October 7, 1862, has a large patriotic engraving for the letterhead depicting an angel with a sword leading the charge of a company of Union men, with a small Confederate flag in the distance.