Archibald Little Hager (1813-1888) was a farmer who lived in Perry County, Missouri. He kept a diary from 1844 to 1887. His diary records include daily events such as births, marriages, and deaths, the weather, social occasions, and agricultural tasks. Hager served in Fremont Rangers Home Guard from August 8, 1861, to October 1861 and in Simpson’s (Fourth) Regiment Six Months Militia from October 1861 to February 25, 1862. Many of his diary entries during the Civil War period include his personal military experiences as well as many mentions of men joining the Army and battles and other actions in the area.

I am in the process of transcribing Civil War entries in that diary and annotating them for a presentation that I will be making in October. Social distancing and the closure of the library and the archives of the Perry County Historical Society have slowed my project; however, I have been able to find some parts of the diary that have been previously been published by the society.

The Hager Diary entry for September 22, 1861 states, "Morrie Duneasie got killed in a scout near Dallas."