The John E. Goodhue papers contains letters written by Goodhue to his family while enlisted in the 4th Battery, Massachusetts Volunteer Light Artillery. The letters describe camp life at Ship Island, Mississippi, Fort Jackson, Camp Parapet, Fort Pike, Louisiana, Dauphin Island, Alabma, and Galveston, Texas. The collection also contains a booklet created by the Soldiers and Sailors Historical and Benevolent Society which gives a personal and military history of Goodhue. The collection includes a few letters from his family and some newspaper obituaries.