Woodlin’s brief entries describe camp life, his service with the regimental band as a horn player, several battles, the weather, equal pay with white soldiers, and the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment, among many other topics. He describes his part in the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, where his regiment arrived two months after fighting began. The middle section of this journal includes blank leaves, followed by several pages of notes and lists. The diary was rebound, but includes the separated original cover.