Two versions of William Gibbs McAdoo's diary documenting his life from 1846 to 1894. McAdoo wrote this diary and series of letters during the Mexican War, Civil War, and through his later years until 1894. Volume 1 is the draft version of the compilation of these extracts and Volume 2 is the final version. The diary begins in 1846 at a camp near Camargo, Mexico, and documents McAdoo’s time in the Mexican War through May 1847. Diary entries continue in January 1856 during McAdoo's time as local attorney general through his time during the Civil War as he performs his duties as an officer of the Confederacy, and until 1873 as he describes both personal and professional experiences. The diary resumes in 1876 and includes events relating to his move back to Knoxville and professorship at the University of Tennessee beginning in 1877. Entries continue mostly regularly, with a few lapses, until approximately two months before his death in 1894. The diary in his later years focuses on his personal life and includes some genealogical information.