This is the journal of a Civil War Marine Officer, Frank L. Church. A career officer, Church maintained a personal journal through most of the Red River Expedition of 1864. The Red River was a major trouble spot for the Federal river forces in the west, and during the expedition of 1864, Church commanded the Marine guard on the U.S. Steamer Black Hawk, Admiral David Dixon Porter's flagship of the Mississippi Squadron, and the Cricket, a tinclad, which served as flagship for the expedition.Dr. Edward P. Keuchel, a member of the Department of History, Florida State University, together with Dr. James P. Jones, a colleague in the history department at Florida State and a Civil War expert, has edited and annotated the Church journal and has provided an interesting vignette of Federal Marine Corps service in the Civil War and especially in one of the campaigns in which Marines served.