The letters are chiefly of Sir Charles Gilbert John Brydone Elliot, to his father, the 2nd Earl of Minto, and his brother, George F S Elliot, but include letters from other members of the family. The correspondence is concerned with his naval career, particularly his Court-Martial in Jamaica (1843), the abortive attempt to trap a Russian squadron in the Gulf of Tartary (1855-1856), and successful operations against Chinese junk fleets in the Canton river (1856-1857), for which see D Bonner Smith and E W R Lumley (editors), ‘The second China War 1856-1860’, ‘Navy Records Society’, 1954.