When the Civil War broke out, he helped to raise the 82nd Indiana Infantry Regiment and followed it into battle, assuming the duties of Chaplain. The papers consist primarily of personal correspondence with the Dreiser and Rose families. Included are Civil War letters of Edmund Graham. From 1861 to 1869 he served as U.S. district attorney for the district of Indiana. Letters deal with politics, the presidential election of 1860, and purported Southern sympathizers.
Some letters deal with incidents leading up to the Civil War and the War itself and slavery.
He was in the 33rd regiment, Tennessee Volunteers. In addition to personal and family news the letters contain political news, both state and national, and news on the Civil War. The Indiana History mss. Kimball was in a company of volunteers which was part of the 14th Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Almost half of the collection falls within the years 1861-1867, when Lane was a member of the U.S. Senate.