This collection consists of a letter from Alva Sinks to his father, George Sinks, written from a camp near Atlanta, Georgia, in 1864. In the letter, Sinks writes of fighting from Dalton to Jonesboro, Georgia, of the destruction of the countryside, and of the defenses of Atlanta and impending battle. The letter gives a first-hand account of the Union Army in the Atlanta area. Sinks praises the movements of William T. Sherman's troops and tells of Sherman's orders for all civilians to be removed from Atlanta and the city's transformation into a military encampment. He also mentions General Hood and the Confederate's fortifications. He describes magnificent houses riddles with bullets and how the countryside has been devastated, with no food or supplies left for the Confederate troops and civilians. Sinks also mentions his dislike for the "copperheads," Union men who were against the Civil War and wanted "peace at any cost." The collection also includes an envelope containing a woodcut of Gen. Winfield Scott is enclosed with the letter, as well as another envelope postmarked at Chattanooga.