Waldo begins his tenure as the Bureau agent in Augusta disgusted by how whites openly deceive and cheat their black employees. Many of the letters during this period address the condition of Augusta schools, which Waldo feels are not ready for the new season of students, and securing teachers. Waldo argues that the legal system is tainted by white prejudice, and reports that local blacks fear the end of the Bureau's tenure at the close of the year. In the meantime, though, Waldo deals with court cases, legal disputes, and freedmen searching for displaced family members.

Waldo addresses the hiring of teachers for Augusta's black schools, and laments the poverty of local African Americans and the Bureau's inability to alleviate it. He writes several requests for clothing, partially in response to requests freedmen make in order to survive the winter. Many letters concern the closing of the Bureau's office in Staunton and the forwarding of records and reports. As he closes the office, Waldo reports that Augusta whites became more belligerent in their attacks on blacks.