L. Stone Hall was a member of the Iowa Infantry, Nineteenth Regiment, Company C, during the U.S. Civil War. The diary includes brief descriptions of camps, journeys, battles, skirmishes, guarding prisoners and memories and yearnings for home. During the time period when Hall wrote his diary, Company C spent much of their time in the area of Pascagoula Bay and Franklin Creek (Mississippi). The news clipping contains an image and caption about James Irva Dungan and his capture and escape from the Confederates. The History of the Regiment contains the chapter describing Hall, Cary and Cocklin's escape from the Shreveport, Louisiana prison.
The diary contains brief entries detailing his experiences in camp, on marches, and at battle, as well as entries made while in the regimental hospital. The final entries recording Chambers' illness and death are written in a different hand. The memoranda pages at the back of the diary include a note about his enlistment and other men who enlisted at the same time. Also at the back of the diary are notes about expenses. John W. Chambers (1840-1863) was born in Guyandotte, Ohio and later moved to Burlington, Iowa. He served as a private in Company E, 15th Regiment, Iowa Infantry from 1862 to 1863. The regiment was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, and later in Louisiana and Mississippi, and they took part in the siege of Vicksburg. The regiment also worked on the digging of a canal to connect Lake Providence, Louisiana, and the Mississippi River. Chambers was taken sick with typhoid fever in July 1863 and remained in the regimental hospital until early August. He became ill again at the end of August and was taken to Lawson Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. He died of typhoid fever in a hospital in St. Louis on 21 September 1863. He is buried in Jagger Cemetery, Danville Township, Iowa. Blank pages not included here.
The majority of entries were written during the Civil War and describe Lee's work on the family farm, attending religious services, visiting family throughout central Iowa, social activities, and her beaux. She also describes her training to be a teacher and her efforts to assist in keeping a boarding house. There are a few later entries where Barker discusses her marriage and family. Blank pages: 2, 176-182, 184, 192-193. Missing pages: 5-6, 119-122, 196-197, 206-215, 222-229, 232-251. Number 171 omitted in page numbering.
