The collection consists of typed transcripts of Private Miller’s daily diary and letters to his family during his time as a soldier. The letters and diary chronicles the 12th regiment’s march from Wisconsin through Tennessee and Alabama and into Georgia. His papers provide detailed descriptions of the towns and countryside through which he travelled and include observations on the daily activities of soldiers, such as training and foraging, as well as comments on the weather and the general health of himself and his fellow troops. Miller described battles and skirmishes his brigade fought on its way to Atlanta. He describes the action of the Battle of Atlanta, and the subsequent march to Savannah, through the Carolinas, and into Washington, D.C., where he was part of the Grand Review of the Armies on May 24, 1865. He makes mention of the presidential election of November, 1864 and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April, 1865. Miller’s diary also chronicles his frustration over constraints on his mobility while in Washington and his train ride home to Wisconsin after the war ended.