The provenance of the material in this collection is quite murky. Some of the official records in the collection are known to have been in the field desk presented to the Historical Society by Ernest H. Keene. Handwritten annotations on these records indicate that they had been reviewed by the Wisconsin Adjutant General in 1889 and perhaps, as duplicates, returned to private hands. However, this group of documents (originally catalogued as Series 2224) also included Henry Dillon's personal papers, as well as some estate papers of Thomas Hood, who succeeded Dillon as captain. Dillon may have had these papers since he was the executor of the Hood estate. Additional Dillon papers were presented to the Historical Society by members of his family.
In 1996 all of the Dillon papers were weeded and compared to the documentation of the 6th Battery in Series 1200. Although the Dillon materials were duplicated in Series 1200 they were retained as evidence of the kinds of official documents kept in regimental custody.
The collection also includes a manuscript about the Battle of Gettysburg that is of unknown provenance.
The photographs are carte-de-visite studio portraits, primarily of individuals serving in the military during the Civil War, including images of enlisted men and officers, circa 1860-1870, probably collected by Henry Dillon. Also includes one full-plate ambrotype of Henry Dillon.
