Augustus Hervey Mecklin (1834–1913) enlisted in Company I, Fifteenth Mississippi Infantry, CSA, on September 23, 1861, and received a medical discharge on June 17, 1862. On November 1, 1863, he was commissioned by the Executive Committee of Domestic Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America to serve as a missionary to the churches of Olney and Poplar Creek, in the presbytery of Tombeckbee.

The diary covers the period of Mecklin's service in the Confederate army. A typescript was made of the diary at some time, transcriber unknown. Photocopies (n.d.) of Mecklin's ministerial commission and a typescript of "Autobiography of Augustus Hervey Mecklin" comprise the personal papers. A photocopy (n.d.) of a typescript of a history (n.d.) of Poplar Creek Presbyterian Church, Montgomery County, written by John A. Mecklin (Mecklin's father) completes this collection. A colophon on the typescript contains this information: "copied from old scrip [sic] by M Sgt. J. M. Cartledge 7 Nov. 1949."

Series:

1. Diary. 1861–1862. 3 items. The diary has been kept in the three parts as originally presented to the Department. The three parts are in chronological order. Some entries are in pencil and may be illegible. Part three is composed of several different sizes of papers.
2. Diary typescript. n.d. 2 items. Typescript of the diary with page indications.
3. Personal papers. n.d. 2 items. Photocopies of ministerial commission and autobiography of H. A. Mecklin.
4. J. A. Mecklin manuscript. n.d. 1 item. Photocopy of a typescript (1949), made by M Sgt. J. M. Cartledge, of a history of Poplar Creek Presbyterian Church, located in Montgomery County.