Pressley Boyd wrote his sister — Mary Jane Hall — from Vienna, Virginia on Aug. 4, 1861. He briefly recounts some events from First Manassas. Pressley tells her about a shell exploding “fifteen steps” from him and cutting the limbs from the trees above his head. He reports that about half of his company (D, 7th SC) is sick with the measles. He feels that he will soon have it himself since all the men he sleeps among are infected. He laments not having enough to eat or a bed to sleep in.

To learn more click on the “Diamond Hill” link at the top. To buy the book you may go to any major online retailer such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or you may buy it directly from McFarland Publishers. “The Boys of Diamond Hill” is also available for the Kindle.