This collection contains numerous letters to residents of or regarding life in Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee. All of these documents except for the single letter from 1925 are written in German. Some of the topics covered include Civil War-era Chattanooga (letter dated March 29, 1864), the Southern Express Company of Knoxville (November 6, 1868), and alcohol production and prices (many of the letters from the 1880s and 1890s). The documents date from 1864-1925 although the bulk are from 1864-1896.

Correspondents include Jos. Lewis Lane, John Mathis, Leonhard and Mary Kreis, and Dave and Dora Kuhn. Many of the letters were written to John Kreis of Wartburg.