In the letter Mary Ann offers her son advice on corresponding with young ladies: "I hope you will never ask a lady (unless a relative) for her narrative untill [sic] you are engaged...young people oftentimes become interested and then attached...
In the letter she describes a raid by Union soldiers on her family's property: "After the Boats and Negroes all left we gathered up the fragments and were surprised that so much was left...We feel devoutly grateful that the place was not burned and...
In the letter she discusses a recent raid; supplies she has sent to him and other people (including mercurial ointment, "a dangerous medicine to use...you must be exceedingly cautious"); conditions and activities at home ("We have only a tolerable...
In the letter she discusses money that has been sent to Edward to buy clothes; unreliable mail delivery; the difficulty of traveling between the North and South; and her husband's new retail firm. She makes predictions about the outcome of the...
In the letter she discusses unreliable mail delivery; her sons' experiences in the Confederate army ("They never murmur or complain - laugh over their corn bread, tough Beef & tentless bed, and seems to realize how much better off they are than the...
In the letter, begun on September 22, Mary Ann Hall discusses widespread pneumonia in the area, especially among the slaves: "Every negro on the place has had second or third attack of fever. At one time Dick was the only one on the place to cook -...