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This diary (around 29 pages) was maintained by 18-year-old David Weston in July and August of 1863 in Boston and Reading, Massachusetts. His entries reflect the labor he performed, such as making shoes, sawing and splitting wood, and agricultural tasks. He also added notes regarding the Boston Draft Riot, its aftermath, and other Massachusetts military events.

This diary (around 29 pages) was maintained by 18-year-old David Weston in July and August of 1863 in Boston and Reading, Massachusetts. His entries reflect the labor he performed, such as making shoes, sawing and splitting wood, and agricultural tasks. He also added notes regarding the Boston Draft Riot, its aftermath, and other Massachusetts military events.

Weston wrote about the impact of the draft on his friends and family; for example, on July 16, 1863, "the Governor ordered troops to be in readiness, in the evening a crowd got together in front of the Armory of the 11th Battery in Cooper St. . . . the crowd pulled up bricks from the sidewalk & began to storm the door..." (page 5). A portion of an envelope laid into the volume lists the weights of six individuals (including Weston) taken at the Reading railroad depot in October 1862.