The Mary Emma Bird diary is a 138 page handwritten, unbound diary with pages numbered 469-607. The diary begins October 11, 1860 and ends about June 12, 1863. There is a seven-month gap from October 10, 1862 to May 15,1863. Due to the page numbering sequence, the diary appears to be one volume from a set.

Aside from general comments about the Civil War, the following specific events were mentioned by her: the election of 1860 (she is for Lincoln and is pleased when he wins), the secession of the first group of southern states, President Lincoln's inauguration and the Baltimore assassination attempt, the Ft. Sumter relief attempt and the firing on Ft. Sumter, the beginning of the Civil War and the secession of Virginia, and the Baltimore riots between secessionists and Massachusetts volunteers. It is not clear if she mentions these events because they interest her or if it is the only news she has heard.

She also writes about a vacation in the fall of 1862 to New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, and provides interesting descriptions of war-time New York City.