This letter was written by Daniel L. Chandler from Paola, Kansas, to John Stillman Brown, a Unitarian minister who lived west of Lawrence. The first portion of Chandler's letter describes a young soldier named James, apparently recuperating from illness and under Brown's care and supervision in Lawrence. Chandler speaks of promotions and new officers in the army and his contentment with his "humble position" as hospital steward. He also writes of his popularity with the troops and his efforts to obtain "comforts" for them.