Certificates, correspondence, and newspaper clippings from Brig. Gen. David Allen Russell. Of note are his certificate of admission to West Point in 1841, letters written to family members during Russell's time stationed in Mexico and Oregon, as well as letters to family during the Civil War. Many of his letters discuss his desire to further his military career, sometimes with the help of his father's influence.

Special Orders No. 22, dated January 28, 1862, from Major General McClellan gave Captain Russell leave from the 4th Infantry to "command a regiment of volunteers." and a letter from William Brown, Assistant Adjutant General of Massachusetts, appointed him Colonel of the 7th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers.