Larger photograph album

The papers include materials from the Gorgas and Gayle families, predominantly the papers of Josiah Gorgas, his wife Amelia Gayle Gorgas, her parents John Gayle and Sarah Haynsworth Gayle, her brother Richard Haynsworth Gayle, and the Gorgas's children Jessie, Mary Gayle, Christine Amelia ("Minnie"), Maria Bayne, and Richard Haynsworth.

The papers of Josiah Gorgas include his personal correspondence to his wife Amelia Gayle Gorgas (1853-1880), to their son William Crawford Gorgas (1868-1880), to others (1842-1875), from Jefferson Davis (1868-1879), and from others (1839-1878); his diary, scrapbook, and sketches from his European travels (1845-1846) and from his military service during the Mexican War (1846); his 1857-1878 diary; his correspondence and writings concerning his work as Chief of the Confederate Ordnance Bureau (1861-1865); a few items pertaining to his presidency of the Brierfield Iron Works (1867); and materials relating to his vice-chancellorship of the University of the South (1868-1878).

The papers of Amelia Gayle Gorgas include her personal correspondence to her husband Josiah Gorgas (1858-1876), to their son William Crawford Gorgas (1868-1907), to their daughter-in-law Marie (Mrs. William Crawford) Gorgas (1900-1906), to others (1841-1907), from various individuals expressing condolence at the death of Josiah Gorgas (1883), and from various individuals (1862-1907); her account of the evacuation of Richmond during the Civil War; three scrapbooks; and memorials to her. John Gayle's papers include his correspondence (1832-1838), a typescript of state papers relating to Creek Indian affairs (1832-1834) while he was Governor of Alabama, and pictures of himself and Francis Scott Key, who visited the Gayles in 1833.

Sarah Haynsworth Gayle's papers include her personal correspondence to her husband John Gayle (1819-1835), to her relatives in South Carolina (1823-1833), and to her friend Mrs. Mary Peck in Greensboro, Alabama (1833-1834); and her journal (1827-1835) describing her family's life in frontier Alabama. There are also correspondence and materials pertaining to other Gayle and Gorgas family members, including a Richard Haynsworth Gayle's diary (1856-1865), which describes his voyage from Mobile around Cape Horn to Genoa, Italy; a copy of the diary (1876-1888) of Josiah Gorgas' brother Solomon Atkinson Gorgas; Maria Bayne Gorgas's letters to family members from Europe (1892-1905) where she was nurse-companion to Mary Leroy King of Newport, Rhode Island; the Gorgas family Bible and the Gayle family Bible; and genealogical materials concerning the Gorgas, Gayle, Atkinson, and Rittenhouse families.

The papers are arranged into the following series and subseries: Josiah Gorgas: Outgoing Correspondence, Incoming Correspondence, Early Diaries, Diaries, 1857-1878, Military Matters, Other Writings, Pertaining to, About Amelia Gayle Gorgas: Outgoing Correspondence, Incoming Correspondence, About, Writings, Pertaining to Gorgas and Gayle Families: Bibles And Scrapbook; John Gayle; Sarah Haynsworth Gayle: Outgoing Correspondence, Journal, Pertaining to Richard Haynsworth Gayle; Jessie Gorgas; Mary Gayle Gorgas; Maria Bayne Gorgas; Richard Haynsworth Gorgas; Other Family Member; Gorgas Family, Pertaining to; Genealogy; Miscellaneous.

The papers of the Gorgas's eldest son William Crawford Gorgas, famous for his work in combating yellow fever in Cuba and Panama, are held in a separate collection, the William Crawford Gorgas Papers. There is also a separate collection of material relating to the Brierfield Iron Works, of which Josiah Gorgas was the president immediately after the Civil War. A related collection is the Sarah Gayle Crawford and William B. Crawford papers.