Enlistment and Fort Monroe -- The Monitor and the Merrimack and Newport News -- An infantry officer in the Army of the Potomac -- McClellan's retreat and the hospitalization of Lieutenant Ayling -- Lieutenant Ayling on sick leave -- The Fredericksburg Campaign -- Winter camp and transfer to Newport News -- A wartime love affair -- Occupation duty in Kentucky -- Down the Mississippi and the siege of Vicksburg -- Occupation in Mississippi and return to Kentucky -- Travel to Knoxville on return from sick leave -- Winter camp in eastern Tennessee -- Hard times and a depleted company -- The end of the war -- Postwar duty in Richmond, Virginia -- Last days in Richmond -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.