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A trove of letters dating back to the middle of the eighteenth century has been found - by accident - at the National Archives in the UK.

They relate to the Seven Years' War - essentially a war between Britain and France and their respective allies as they both fought over their overseas territories. The letters were written to French sailors on board a warship trying to get to Quebec but was intercepted and captured by a British ship.

Renaud Morieux is a professor of European History at Cambridge University. He came across the letters, most of them still sealed, while researching a book. He hold Newshour's James Menendez more about them.

"The puzzle to this day is why they were not opened," says Morieux.

(Photo shows a collection of unopened love letters from the Seven Years' War. Credit: Renaud Morieux/The National Archives/PA)