Lemuel Amzi Donnell was a Tennessee native who had traveled with his family in 1850 to Missouri in search of new land. Donnell live on his family’s farm with his parents until 1860 when he decided to join the Missouri State Guard, Company F, 4th Infantry Regiment, 8th Division. Donnell served for four years fighting for the Confederate cause across Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri. He recorded his life as a solider in his personal diary, along with his own original poetry. Donnell participated in numerous military campaigns, and reported obtaining multiple furloughs for long periods of time; which was highly unusual for a soldier to receive during a time of conflict.

John W. Fisher’s diary documents his duties in the Missouri State Guard from mid October, 1861, through the first week of January, 1862. Fisher was born in Virginia, and lived in Westport, Missouri prior to the War. Fisher served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Missouri State Guard. The diary cites Fisher’s movement through Missouri and Indian Territory. Fisher survived the war, ending his days in a Confederate Veterans home in Harrisonburg, Missouri, in 1910.