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This brief 14-letter collection does not cover very much of Chester Ballard's Civil War service in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry, but he describes a few events well, namely the Wilderness-Spotsylvania campaign at the Bloody Angle, and the 3rd Battle of Winchester. In other letters, Ballard writes about camp life and morale in Virginia.

The collection of 14 Ballard letters is unfortunately incomplete, providing only spotty coverage of the Civil War service of Chester Ballard in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry, from shortly after his enlistment in 1862 until the winter of 1864. While Ballard is not a particularly eloquent writer, nor is he especially introspective, at his best he provides clear and occasionally powerful descriptions of events. Two letters in particular stand out. In one, written on May 13th, 1864, after the nine days of continuous combat during the Wilderness-Spotsylvania campaigns, a confused Ballard laments the terrible losses inflicted upon his regiment at the Bloody Angle, and notes that the "regiment does not look much as it did when we left camp 10 days ago." The other letter, written on September 20th, 1864, includes an account of the 3rd Battle of Winchester, in which the 37th distinguished itself when their colonel, Oliver Edwards, helped to turn the tide of battle by grabbing the regimental standard and exhorting his soldiers to continue their charge. Ballard's other letters provide interesting descriptions of camp life in Virginia and of the soldiers' activities and morale.

William P. Fessenden was a founding member of the Republican Party and one of its most energetic antislavery voices. His papers consist almost entirely of incoming correspondence, written while he was serving as a U.S. Senator from Maine, 1855-1868. This correspondence reflects Fessenden's moderately progressive political views, and his interests in the abolition of slavery, economics and finance, the turmoil in Kansas in the late 1850s, and the Civil War.

The William P. Fessenden papers consist almost entirely of incoming correspondence addressed to Fessenden, written while he was serving as a U.S. Senator from Maine, 1855-1868. This correspondence reflects Fessenden's moderately progressive political views, and his interests in the abolition of slavery, economics and finance, the turmoil in Kansas in the late 1850s, and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the correspondence consists of requests for favors from acquaintances and constituents, usually in seeking recommendations for jobs, political appointments, or assistance in pressing legislation.

The major topics of interest covered in the collection include the national debate over slavery. Several letters relate to the political turmoil in Kansas between 1856 and 1860, and there are letters requesting that Fessenden address particular abolition societies, and one interesting item relating to slavery in Missouri that includes a small printed map depicting slave-holding patterns in the state (2:49).

The Civil War forms the context for approximately half of the letters in the collection. There is a small series of letters relating to increases in pay for naval chaplains and army surgeons, and several routine letters requesting commissions or transfers in the army. The most important items present include a letter written from New Orleans, 1864, complaining of Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut's apparent unwillingness to execute the government's orders to stop trafficking in cotton (Hurlbut's corruption appears to have been no secret); a letter describing the situation in Missouri in the midst of Sterling Price's Wilson's Creek Campaign, complaining about John C. Frémont's ineffectiveness; and a fine letter from a commander of a Maine independent artillery battery in the defenses of Washington, complaining of their inactivity. Finally, there is a brief obituary of Jesse Lee Reno, killed at South Mountain in 1862.

There are very few items that relate in any way to Fessenden's private life, but three letters include some discussion of the problems of his son, Samuel. The only letter written by Fessenden in this collection is addressed to Sam, advising him to behave himself and not to consort with bad company. Apparently, the Senator had good cause to worry for his son, since Sam apparently fell in with gamblers and fled for Canada after running up a sizable debt.