University of Virginia Library

According to the OED, "inst." is an abbreviation for "instant," which refers to the current calendar month; for example, the 10th instant is the tenth day of the calendar month.

"Hermon" probably refers to Mount Hermon Baptist Church, which was established in 1844 and is located outside the Danville city limits in Pittsylvania County (http://www.petersburg.com/c/c1.htm).

Brigadier General George Edward Pickett (1825-1875), a graduate of West Point and a veteran of the Mexican War, commanded Pickett's Division of Longstreet's Corps at Gettysburg. Following Gettysburg, he assumed command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina.

In September of 1863, Longstreet's First Corps, of which the 38th Virginia was a part, was ordered to proceed from Virginia to Tennessee so that they could back up Bragg's forces. However, Pickett's Virginians did not want to leave their home state, especially so soon after their great losses at Gettysburg. After some negotiating, Pickett's division was permitted to detach from the First Corps and establish camp several miles south of Petersburg (Gregory 45).

Polly Ann Blair (1831-?) was a cousin of the Bookers.