Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections

This 110-page Civil War diary of Austin C. Chapel, 5th Sergeant of Company G in Wisconsin's 13th Infantry Regiment, chronicles his daily activities in 1863 while guarding Union supplies in Tennessee. Documents which accompany the diary include Chapel's notice of appointment as 5th Sergeant, a 4-page letter written by Chapel in 1862 while posted at Fort Scott, Kansas, and his photograph in uniform.

The diary entries are varied and detailed. Mitchell records an eclipse of the moon, observes the course of the war and the politics involved in it. He also observes military life, the prevalence and fatal consequences of diseases such as measles and mumps, the physical and demographic features of the country through which he traveled. There are lists of all the members of his company, their nativity and home towns.