This is the diary of George Washington Harris of Terre Haute, Indiana. He was born in 1844 to Lavinia Bennet and Richard John Harris. He served as a Private in the 41st Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, Company H, from November 1, 1861 to January 29, 1863, as a Sergeant 1st class in the 133rd Regiment Indiana Infantry, Company H, from May 17, 1864 to September 5, 1864, and as a 1st Sgt in Company F of the 149th Indiana Infantry Regiment from February 17, 1865 to September 27, 1865. He was later a Commander in Jacob Hoopes' Post 163 of the Department of Indiana Grand Army of the Republic.

This diary was written during his third enlistment. 1st Sgt Harris was stationed in Decatur, Alabama, on railroad protection duty at the end of the Civil War.

The diary passed to George Washington Harris's son, George Washington Harris, Jr., then to George Jr.'s daughter, Sarah Harris Clark, and finally, to her daughter, Mary Clark Walls. The diary contains notice that Lincoln was shot and describes the reaction of the men of the 149th. It also describes the mounted patrol toward Moulton from Decatur, and it details an oft-reported incident where a black man killed a Union officer. There are sections that may be written in code using an idiosyncratic alphabet or highly stylized type font. The bulk of the writings are descriptions of weather and land, as well as some philosophical writings.