Union Diary of Private James Shapleigh, of Company D, 43rd Massachusetts Regiment.  Entries in pencil, 3.25" x 4.75", with each page divided into three days. Painting a picture Union-occupied North Carolina, Private James F. Shapleigh, of Medfield, Massachusetts gives a descriptive, yet concise chronicle of the perilous danger, and monotony, of military duty from January first to July tenth in the year 1863, with later entries relating to home life.

In part "...[Thursday, January 1]...Commenced picket duty at Bachelors Creek this afternoon...About 10:30 P.M. the guerillas fired into our outer post, but fortunately hurting no one...[Sunday, January 18]...This morning at 6 we started for Trenton Co. D in advance. We arrived in the city about 2:30. About 200 rebs left before we got there...[Tuesday, February 18]...Cold and stormy to day - have had no drill of any kind...[Sunday, April 12]...pretty soon one of the gunboats commenced shelling the woods, the rebs were trying to get some cannon to bear on the transports, but the gunboats 'couldn't see in that light.'"

Condition: Noticeable wear to cover, and even with a small area of cover loss at the fastening fold, it's still fully intact. As befitting a field-carried diary, there is light soiling throughout, especially near the page edges, and some entries are faded, though all are still legible. Numerous notations appear at sporadic points, and a section of pages in the center have become detached.