A majority of the correspondence reflects the personal and military activities of George Bowker and the 89th New York Infantry Regiment during the War of the Rebellion. The 89th fought in the Eastern theater of the war, and Bowker mentions the siege of Suffolk [April-May 1862] and the bombardment of Fort Sumter [August 1863]. Included in the collection are the letters of Clara Bowker dating from 1897 to 1898.

The collection contains Civil War letters and papers, material about the toll road from Watertown to Watertown Center, and miscellaneous legal and business papers from the Watertown, N.Y. area. The most significant piece of the collection are the Xeroxed copies of letters from Benny F. Murfitt, who was a sergeant in the 150th New York Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War. His recollections focus on the series of battles outside of Atlanta, Georgia.