This collection consists of three diaries (1861-1864) of Edwin R. Osband of Wayne County, Michigan, kept during his service in the Civil War.

The diary entries express alarm at the "profanity and wickedness" among the soldiers (December 23, 1861), describe exorbitant prices in Nashville (February, 1862), and predict that "the war will not be of long duration" (January 9, 1862). There are also comments on a dispute over pay among members of the regiment (1862), and reports on food shortages (October, 1864).

The last journal contains the names and addresses of the men in Company H who were discharged with Osband. After the war, the last volume was used to record mileage charts, home remedies, and financial records.