This collection consists of Nelson's war diaries, several transcriptions, a narrative describing Nelson's war experiences, and a muster roll. Nelson wrote his diaries in shorthand. Included are his original diary for 1864, typed and handwritten transcriptions of the 1864 diary, and a typed transcription of Nelson's diary for 1865 (the original is not included in the collection). The narrative, written by Nelson's son Gaylord Nelson, is based on Wilbur Nelson's diary for 1863 and his correspondence (which are not included in the collection). The muster roll for Company I, 102nd Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, dated February 14, 1864, lists the name, age, and rank of the soldiers in the unit.

This collection has been transcribed, scanned and placed online at http://civilwar.archives.msu.edu/collection/7-1C-1C/wilbur_nelson/.