After receiving his commission in the 27th Virginia Infantry in 1862, Chaplain Lachlan C. Vass of the Stonewall Brigade ministered to the troops in battles such as the Battle of Monocacy, MD as seen in his extensive list of dead and wounded. 1865 found Rev. Vass in Petersburg during what would be the last days of the War Between the States. After the Civil War ended, he continued to serve as a minister in and around that city. In 1866 he accepted the call to pastor the First Presbyterian Church of New Bern, NC. His Diary gives valuable insight into the last days of the War as well as into life during the days of Reconstuction and the post-Civil War era. His legacy as a Presbyterian minister inspired his son and grandson to become ministers as well as missionaries to Africa.