Hiram H. Thornton was from Fayette County, Georgia and served in Co. C, 53rd Georgia Infantry. Thornton died on February 11, 1863 in camp near Fredericksburg, Virginia. At the time of the 1870 Census, his wife, Elizabeth F. Thornton, and their son, David Lee Thornton, were still living in Fayette County. This collection includes two letters written by Hiram Thornton, as well as letters written by two of Elizabeth Thornton's brothers, John T. Speir and James H. Speir (the family name is also spelled Speer and Spear in census and military records).John T. Speir served with Hiram Thornton in Co. C, 53rdGeorgia Infantry. James H. Speir served as an assistant surgeon in the 23rd Georgia Infantry, but left the regiment sometime after June 1862 and took up residence in Pike County, Georgia where he taught school.