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Henry Buck graduated from the University of Michigan in 1858 and was granted an M.A. degree in 1861. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law briefly in Grand Rapids. He joined the 51st Illinois Infantry Regiment of Volunteers, becoming an acting First Lieutenant on June 15, 1862, and was placed in command of his company about January 15, 1863. On September 19, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga, he was killed instantly with a shot in the head. The letters and diary are entirely concerned with his experiences and observations while serving with the Union Army. A biography of Buck, and his obituary, are included in the papers.

Within this collection is Buck's diary (the original, damaged by a bullet), a transcribed copy of the diary (hand unknown), Buck's letters home to his family in Ypsilanti, his obituary, a map of the Battlefield of Stone River, and his officers' bars (indicators of rank).