Glenn, this is an amazing find for me. Almost 5 years ago, I received a message from George Martin pointing me in the direction of Louis Leon's Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, wherein he mentions on January 8, 1864, "there were two men shot in our brigade for desertion today..." Your ancestor's diary entry confirms that date for me, as well as my question about the brigade or regiment that was required to witness the execution. Thank you so much! Now I just need to discover how and where executed prisoners would be buried - in unmarked graves, or in a separate area of a cemetery?