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The Charles Snyder papers contain correspondence between Snyder, a soldier in the 50th New York Engineers, his future wife, and other family members, concerning soldiers' duties and attitudes, religious activities, and other topics.

The Charles Snyder papers contain 182 letters to and from Snyder, 1857-1866, and one carte-de-visite photograph of him in uniform. Charles wrote 67 letters; his future wife, Hannah Wright, wrote 77; his sister Lizzie wrote 10; and his brother Steve wrote 8. Miscellaneous friends and family contributed an additional 20 letters.

The 14 letters predating Snyder's enlistment concern his teaching career, study at the University of Albany, religious activities, and family news from several of his sisters. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Snyder commented regularly on the conflict; he stated that the "strongest moral power" would be needed by soldiers in order to resist the temptations of camp life (September 17, 1861) and described a visit to the barracks of his brother William, a soldier in the 97th New York Infantry (January 25, 1861).

Between Snyder's enlistment in August 1862 and the end of the war, almost all of the correspondence is between Charles Snyder and his future wife, Hannah ("Nannie") Wright. In his letters, Snyder gave his frank opinions of various aspects of the war, often influenced by his strong religious convictions. Snyder initially felt that a recruiter had deceived him about the character of the regiment he had joined, particularly objecting to the men's swearing and drinking, and in several early letters, expressed his disillusionment with their behavior, as well as with the Union's mounting defeats. In other letters, he described his duties with the 50th Engineers, including building and destroying roads and bridges, constructing rafts, unloading trains, clearing brush, filling ditches, and moving boats, but wrote "that our country is receiving the full benefit of our sacrifices is not so clear to me" (November 27, 1862).

Snyder's letters provide many rich details of his experiences, such as the taunting by Confederates wielding a sign reading "Burnside stuck in the mud" (January 25, 1863), the universal dislike of the strict pass system instituted by the army (August 30, 1863), and the eating of a Thanksgiving turkey that he and his friends named "Jeff Davis" (November 28, 1863). On several occasions, he wrote to Hannah regarding the morale of the Army of the Potomac, discussing their "unabated" confidence in General Joseph Hooker (May 7, 1863) and stating that they did not consider Chancellorsville a total defeat, especially with the death of Stonewall Jackson, which he considered "equivalent to the loss of many thousand men" (May 20, 1863). Many of Snyder's 1865 letters relate to his promotion to first lieutenant and his desire to return home to Hannah, whom he intended to marry.

In her letters, Hannah Wright discussed religious activities (including involvement with the Tract Society), teaching, and family news, and she also expressed concern and affection for Charles. Later correspondence indicated her increasing involvement in the Union cause, including going to meetings of the U.S. Sanitary Commission (December 21, 1864), and knitting for soldiers. Wright shared Snyder's religious devotion and strict moral code. She reacted strongly to his news that Mary Todd Lincoln had worn makeup to a reception held for soldiers by President Lincoln, writing "It is a sad pity Mrs. Lincoln isn't a true woman" and calling it a "sin" (February 19, 1864). Letters from Snyder's brother Steve and sister Lizzie are primarily personal, regarding health, social visits, and news about other enlisted friends and neighbors.

This collection holds the personal letters of Louisa Dawley Cruikshank of Oneida, New York, and includes letters from her husband, Henry Cruikshank, while he was traveling in California and serving in military during the Civil War.

The Cruikshank-Dawley papers is comprised of 57 letters between Henry Cruikshank and his wife, Louisa Dawley Cruikshank, from before and during the Civil War. The earliest set of letters is addressed to Miss Wealthy A. Dawley and from William Segun and from Louisa Dawley. These discuss general news and family life. Other pre-Civil War letters include letters to Louisa from her sisters, three love letters from Thomas Ormiston, and three letters from her aunt. Henry Cruikshank received a letter from a friend, who wrote about difficult travels on a steamship, and a letter from his sister Mary, who mentioned killing woodchucks and snakes.

A set of five letters document Henry's travels in California. He wrote from New York City in 1860 just before he set sail for California. Upon arrival, he buys a claim and a cabin for $180 and notes that "California is a hard land for a poor man to live in...there is lots of old Californians here would be glad to get a way from here" (May 26, 1861). Henry has more success by July, as he "got 1,400 dollars out of pile of dirt we washed out, was two months three weeks of work." In other letters, he wrote of coming to "near blows" with drunk railroad workers.

The bulk of the Civil War letters are from Henry to his wife Louisa, though some letters are addressed to his sister Louisa and other family members. In nearly every letter, Henry voiced his unhappiness with being in the army and mentioned his desire to come home. He complained of insufficient protection from the cold, a lack of food, and not being paid. He was particularly unhappy that all the soldiers were fighting for was to free the slaves, and he complained that, in the south, they "live better and have better houses to live in than half the white folk in York State...it makes me so mad some times that I have a good mind to run away and let them go to the devil and would not care if the rebs took Washington" (July 5, 1863). He wrote of being shot in a skirmish just before the Battle of Fredericksburg and of sickness in the army, including an outbreak of smallpox in Washington and, toward the end of 1863, an outbreak of the mumps. In general, Crukshank was critical of the management of the Union army and was relentlessly pessimistic about the outcome of the war.

The most recent letter in the collection was from Henry's son in Camden, New York.