Willis writes from Williamsport, MD., near the Potomac River, unsure if they are to cross once again. His regiment lost 25 men in a recent encounter. Willis wonders if Vicksburg has fallen, and if his family are headed to Flat Rock, N.C., soon.
Willis writes from near Orange, Va., that he is upset by the dissatisfaction in some of the Confederate States, that he wishes a dictator was put in place (he would support Jefferson Davis in this role) and that civil law was abolished. He has lost all faith in England.
Caption: 'Colonel William Wilson and his staff (Wilson's Fighting Brigade)--[see page 311].' Identified in image: Quartermaster Bradley, Lieutenant Colonel Creighton, Adjutant James J. Hearey, Paymaster Peter Duffy, Col. William Wilson, Surgeon D.C. Pease and Major William Newby. [full date May 18, 1861.]
Caption: 'Reinforcement of Fort Pickens by Company A, First Artillery, on Saturday morning, April 13--Sketched by an Engineer Officer of the "Brooklyn."--[See Next Page].' [full date May 18,1861.]
Caption (in German): 'Das Innere des Hospitals der schwimmenden Batterie im hafen von Charleston.' {Interior of the hospital of the Floating Battery in Charleston Harbor}
Caption: 'The Battery or Park Promenade at Charleston, South Carolina, during the bombardment of Fort Sumter--Sketched by our Special Artist--[see next page].' [full date May 18, 1861.]
