Joseph A. Miles (b. ca. 1838) was a Cobb County, Georgia farm laborer. At the time of the 1860 Federal Census, Miles was living in the household of his parents, John Miles (b. ca. 1800) and Elmira Miles (b. ca. 1845. Joseph Miles served as a private in the “Marietta Guards,” Co. O, Phillips Georgia Legion and died at Augusta, Georgia on August 21, 1862. The small collection consists of seven letters written by family members to Joseph A. Miles while he was in the army. The Census indicates that John and Elmira Miles could not read or write, and the handwriting suggests that some of the letters were penned by Joseph's sisters, Eveline (b. ca. 1840) or Mary (b. ca. 1848).