Correspondence and communications concerning military engagements and appointments including chains of command, orders, appointments, transfers, reassignments, promotions (or anticipation thereof), resignation, and retirement.

Also present are narratives of field conditions, tactical descriptions, battle plans, and narratives of military maneuvers.

Letters from friends, colleagues, and professionals concerning the subjects of Burns' resignation, his opinions on the war and the political situation of the time. Includes his letters to and from others such as U. S. Grant, J. A. Garfield, Abraham Lincoln, W. B. Franklin, and General George McClellan. Letters of congratulations, appreciation, clarification, and expression of political viewpoints can be found in this series.

This correspondence is chiefly between immediate family members and a few close friends. Some of the correspondence is to or from General Burns, but most are to or from his unmarried sister "Mab" who apparently lived with the family and corresponded with her niece, Pauline Magruder, and nephew, L. Burns Magruder, frequently as they grew up. There are numerous letters and notes from Burns that range in styles and dates from his very early child-like script through his West Point graduation. Several of the letters from Pauline Magruder are in French and written while she was studying in Paris. There are also several letters from a B. L. Prince who was, it seems, intent on marrying the General's sister, "Mab" Burns.

This set of documents is a widely varied mix. Included is a speech delivered by General William Wallace Burns at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, a poem and a fable it is believed he authored, calling cards, invitations, autobiographical narrative, a prayer, news clippings related to family members, an editorial written by General William Wallace Burns, a single old photo of an unidentified couple, a note from a West Point classmate, Daniel T. Van Buren, and miscellaneous empty envelopes.

Box 2 in Series 6 contains transcripts and brief biographical sketches of some correspondents, as well as a few extensive annotations.

Transcripts are coded to match the Box/Folder container list, which has "doc.[a-z]" item level extensions for each document in the collection. Thus, transcripts of correspondence (1848-1889) are present for all of the following:

• Series 1, Military Correspondence
• Series 2, S2-1/6, Documents A-C
• Series 3, S3-1/7, Documents A-H, and K

This series contains documents relating to Texas and East Coast real estate transactions, much definitive information on the "Sibley Tent" and the lawsuit resulting from a disagreement concerning patent royalties. Includes two House Bills to force the government to pay Burns as well as the final statement of judgment. Also various other financial correspondence, largely contentious in nature, including documents concerning a bad debt owed to General Burns. Some of the later correspondence was directed to General Burns' sister and concerned selling some real estate.