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This collection contains a diary and a volume of reminiscences by Gilbert Edwin Dunbar, who served with the 13th Michigan Infantry Regiment from 1862 to 1865. The diary relates to his service as assistant quartermaster in Chattanooga, Tennessee, between January and August 1864. The reminiscences cover his experiences between late 1861 and March 1862, including copied diary entries originally made between February 13, 1862, and March 6, 1862.

This collection contains a diary and a volume of reminiscences by Gilbert Edwin Dunbar, who served with the 13th Michigan Infantry Regiment from 1862 to 1865.

The Diary (about 86 pages) commences on January 1, 1864, and chronicles Dunbar's time as an assistant quartermaster at Chattanooga, Tennessee. In brief daily entries, he wrote about loading and unloading supply ships and trains that stopped in the city, and mentioned other regiments passing through Chattanooga. He also commented on his social life, which included a visit from his father and social calls with local women. After April, he occasionally mentioned news of the war, including developments around Atlanta and related battles; he also shared his favorable opinion of General Ulysses S. Grant. Dunbar mentioned seeing a parade of African American troops on May 1, and on June 30 described a dispute with Colonel Easton, who had charged Dunbar with disobedience and neglect of duty. The final entry is dated August 31, 1864.

The Reminiscences (49 pages), written after the war, begin with a brief introduction indicating Dunbar's intent to publish his memoirs, followed by "Chapter II," which recounts the 13th Michigan Infantry Regiment's training at Camp Douglas in Kalamazoo. Dunbar described his experiences in camp and included a list of the regiment's officers (pp.5-8); after mentioning the unit's departure for Tennessee (p. 12), he copied entries from his diary, commencing on February 13, 1862, as the unit boarded railroad cars bound south through Indiana. Dunbar wrote about the rainy weather and its effect on the soldiers' marches and described the scenery in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. He sought out a battlefield near Munfordville, Kentucky, where he saw the bodies of horses that had been shot during the action (p. 26). The regiment stayed in Bowling Green, Kentucky, between March 2 and 11 (pp. 29-34), and arrived in Nashville on March 13 (p. 37). The volume concludes with an entry dated April 6, 1862, as Dunbar's regiment headed toward Savannah, Tennessee.