Henry Hunter Bowen (b. ca. 1823) was a farmer from Washington County, North Carolina. At the time of the 1860 census, Henry Bowen and his wife, Ann L. Bowen (b. ca. 1825) had three children, Cornelia A. (age 9), Olivia N. (age 6), and Henry C. (age 1). Henry Bowen and his younger brother George W. Bowen (b. ca. 1834) served as privates in the Confederate States Marines. Another brother, Langley R. Bowen (b. ca. 1828), served as a private in Co. G, 17th NC Infantry. The oldest of the Bowen brothers, William J. Bowen (b. ca. 1822), apparently served briefly in 1864 before being discharged. The bulk of the letters in the collection were written by Henry Bowen and his wife, Ann. There are also letters written by William L. Bowen and Rhoda Bateman, a sister of the Bowen brothers.