When the residents of Jackson county, Michigan heard of the South's attack on Fort Sumter, they responded by forming the 17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. David Lane, at the age of 38, left his wife and four children and enlisted in company G, as bugler. He later became company clerk and hospital steward. Mr. Lane kept a diary of his civil war experiences and had it privately published in 1905, giving copies to family. "I had no thought at the time, nor for many years after, of having it published, but, as the years sped on, and the old veterans of the Civil War were being rapidly mustered for final discharge, I have been urged by many old friends and comrades to publish it, that our children and grandchildren may realize something of the hardships and trials their ancestors cheerfully endured for love of country," Bruce Catton, the well known Civil War historian quoted David Lane's diary multiple times in his book, "A Stillness at Appomattox." Additional research by the editor are included to provide supplemental information on phrases, places, persons and contemporary events.