Edward H. Carey was from Warren County, Georgia and enlisted as private in Co. B, 48th Georgia Infantry on March 4, 1862 at Warrenton, Georgia. His military records indicate he was wounded on August 2, 1862 (place not recorded). He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863 and confined at Ft. Delaware. His records also indicate that on September 21, 1864 in was in a Richmond hospital. S. J. Lazenby, to whom the letter is written, was a prosperous Warren County farmer.