Jeremiah S. White recounts his experience in the Civil War as a special courier under General Nathan Bedford Forrest of the Confederate Army. "Revised 1899" on the ledger endpapers indicates the date when he began writing down his recollections, at the request of his wife. He was then in his early 50's. His collection of journals evolves into a dramatic four-part memoir, including details of several key battles during the war.

The story begins with a short introduction of his days as a student leading up to the war, but the bulk of the memoir is set between April 3, 1862, his fourteenth birthday, in Mobile, Alabama, and May 10, 1865, when he received a telegram in Gainesville, Alabama, notifying him that the war was over. This period includes all major battles where General Forrest led the Confederate Army, mostly in West Tennessee, North Mississippi, and Kentucky. He describes what he viewed in each of these battles, and includes his viewpoint and reactions. This memoir contains many quotes and paraphrases from conversations, often in the most important parts of the story.

White's memoir is handwritten and spans four bound journals.