This collection consists of two letters that Union soldier Cyrus Foote, who was then serving with Company D of the 112th Illinois Infantry Regiment, wrote to his brother William from Camp Ella Bishop, Kentucky, in 1863.

Foote's letters deal primarily with descriptions of camp life with descriptions of bad weather, incessant illness (including Typhoid Fever) and constant loneliness. Foote also thanks his brother for his letters, which bring news from home, and tells him that "you must write soon and often to your Brother C. S. Foote."

One aspect of these letters is Foote's consideration of the issue of race. This discussion occurs in context of Foote's description of two church services that he attended in early 1863. He was not impressed with the first sermon, which was given by a white southern pastor who preached "Hellfire + Brimstone." Indeed, this sermon reinforced Foote's poor opinion of Southern preachers in general, who he believes generally "drink Whisky, play Cards + Swear." Foote also attended what he calls the "Niger Meeting" later on, which he was considerably more impressed with. After discussing the meeting proper, Foote says that he really has no right to call it a "Niger Meeting, since I would defy any man to show the line between the Black + White or Rather between the Bond + the Free." He concludes that if "Slavery was confined to the Color, Black, I am Shure Kentucky would not be troubled with more than half as many Slaves as it is now."