LeRoy Wiley Gresham was 12 when he started the diary. He followed the war closely and intelligently, tracking the actions of both the Army of Northern Virginia and Army of Tennessee. He kept up with naval activity, too, as the South tried constantly to run the Union blockade. The record he left of everyday life on the Confederate home front is punctuated by insightful commentary on military, political and economic matters that is extraordinary coming from one so young.