William T. Presley wrote this letter to his wife, Henrietta (Ward) Presley, while he was serving with Company D of the 1st Alabama Cavalry during the American Civil War. In it, he discusses a pony that he had purchased to send home to his sons (Gus and Fate), describes selling his old horse (named Stonewall) and purchasing a new one that can better tolerate military life, recounts his unit's retreat from Tennessee after the fall of Vicksburg, sends news of family and friends serving in the Confederate military, and expresses his homesickness and desire to return to his family soon.