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The Charles H. Carson papers consist of historic newspapers (individual issues), manuscripts, and ephemera, compiled and indexed by Charles H. Carson. The items cover numerous unrelated topics, although many of the newspapers date from the Civil War. The collection was presented to VMI as the "Carson Historical Papers" in 1941 as a memorial to Lieutenant Robert P. Carson, VMI Class of 1854.

This collection consists of papers of Lexington, Virginia lawyer James D. Davidson and his daughter Mary Davidson and includes some correspondence, manuscript and printed poems of James D.Davidson, clippings, and some miscellaneaous papers from the family. James Davidson's printed and handwritten writings in the collection were compiled for his book "A Curiosity in the Chancery and Rhyme and Prose," (N.D., but likely 1876-81). The collection contains detailed genealogy of the Davidson, Greenlee, and McDowell families of Virginia and Kentucky. Other highlights are a typescript paper presented in 1915 by Greenlee Davidson Letcher to the Fortnightly Club of Lexington (Va.) on the life of Capatian Greenlee Davidson, son of James D. Davidson, who died fighting for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, a fragment of a handwritten 19th century recipe book, a small pen and ink drawing on Washington College stationary of the Virginia patriotic doodles and quotations, and a carte de visite photograph of the steamship "City of New York".

Papers contain information about Dunlap's family members, especially Madison Dunlap (1808-1883) of Kerr's Creek and his son, John Matthew Dunlap, a member of the Washington and Lee Class of 1857 who was killed at at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The collection includes compositions that John Matthew Dunlap wrote for Professor J. J. White in 1856-1857, transcripts of letters he wrote while serving in the Confederate Army, and letters concerning his death. The collection also includes the manuscript of J. D. Morrison's Old Monmouth and Its Times.

This collection includes three manuscript novellas written by Henry Ruffner, including a draft of his published work titled "Judith Bensaddi," six sermons written in Ruffner's hand, Washington College student James S. Richeson's handwritten transcript of one of Ruffner's lectures on "Political Economy"(1840), a typescript copy of Ruffner's 1847 pamphlet regarding slavery in Virginia, an 1867 letter relating to Ruffner's estate by his widow, Laura Ruffner, and Ruffner's bound manuscript for the "History of Washington College" (circa 1857). This volume includes notes by Ruffner's son.

This collection contains two single leaves from early manuscript (calligraphic) copies of the Qur'an (Koran) and two leaves from a manuscript copy of Dala'il al-Khayrat, a book of prayers for the prophet Muhammad by Moroccan Sufi scholar Muhammad ibn Sulayman Jazuli. Each leaf is written in Arabic. One Qu'ran leaf is from the Ottoman Period (c. 1847 AD) and retains its gold and color illumination. Its text contains the first sixteen verses of the Surat Al - Bagarah (the Cow). The second leaf likely dates to the 19th century and is also illuminated and contains the first twelve verses of Surat Al - Ghafir (the Forgiver). The two manuscript leaves of the Dala'il Al - Khayrat both predate the 20th century and include text framed by colored borders of red and purple.