Draper correspondence, 1842-1885, with annotations and a few newspaper clippings, all of which centered about Benjamin Cleveland (1736-1806), one of the Whig regimental colonels at King's Mountain. Letters from a few surviving persons who had known him, from members of the Cleveland family, and from descendants of some of his associates discuss not only his military exploits but also his early hunting adventures, his administration of his South Carolina plantation and his Negroes, and his personal life, appearance, and personality. Although he was a popular hero among many patriots, many anecdotes illustrate the harsh, sometimes brutal, autocracy for which he was noted in his encounters with Tory soldiers and civilians.

Some correspondence pertains to Cleveland family genealogy and to Benjamin's brothers Robert, John, Larkin, and Jeremiah. Among Benjamin's associates and friends most prominently mentioned in the letters are John Barton, John Blassingame, Daniel Boone and others in the Boone and Bryan families, Richard Callaway, Benjamin Cutbirth, Martin Davenport and his son William, Joseph Dickson, Jesse Franklin, Charles Gordon, Elijah Isaacs, Samuel Johnson, Andrew Kincannon, Hugh McGary, Salathiel Martin, William Meredith, Andrew Pickens, Elisha Reynolds, John Verner, and Jesse Walton. Some correspondents provided substantial genealogical data for some of these surnames. A brief mention of an earthquake (January 1843) in Mississippi occurs in a note from Charles H. Larrabee.