Nearly a decade ago I was afforded an opportunity to transcribe letters that were purchased by a major buyer on eBay who wished that I would not only transcribe them but identify the authors, look for significant content, and basically research any of the names, places and events mentioned in them. Remuneration was offered but I declined—my reward being the preservation of history. My only condition was that I be authorized to publish the letters or diaries on websites that I created which I entitled, Spared & Shared. I have now transcribed upwards of 15,000 letters/diaries, mostly penned by Civil War soldiers or sailors, but also civilians who were equally impacted by the war.

Over time, as I published these transcripts, others have approached me requesting that I transcribe letters from their private collections and I have generally done so with the same condition, that I be allowed to publish them on Spared & Shared. To showcase my transcription activity, I created a Spared & Shared Facebook page (see link in sidebar). If you follow me there, you will be apprised of any new available transcripts.

I should emphasize that most of these letters or diaries have never been previously transcribed, let alone published, and therefore represent fresh new material available to historians who may be researching their family history or collecting material for a book. Feel free to use this material but please credit Spared & Shared when you do.

If you are looking for information about a particular sailor or soldier, company, or regiment serving in the Civil War, the Billy Yank & Johnny Reb Letters website is my attempt to capture most of the letters I’ve transcribed over the last several years.

If you have any letters, diaries, or pictures—whether it is something you inherited from your family or purchased as a collector—and you are willing to share it on Spared & Shared, please contact me through my Spared & Shared Facebook page. — Griff