History of the Second Massachusetts Regiment of Infantry: A prisoner's diary / A paper read at the officers' reunion in Boston, May 11, 1877

An officer of a Massachusetts infantry regiment provides a first-person account of battlefield service, capture, and imprisonment during the Civil War. Drawing on a diary kept through captivity, the narrative records marches, camp life, skirmishes and larger engagements, wounds received in action, the experience of being taken prisoner, daily reflections and the monotony and hardships of confinement, and eventual release. The material combines immediate journal entries with retrospective commentary, offering observations about comrades, command decisions, logistical strains, and the varied physical and mental trials faced by the regiment.