Broadside, "To the Men of Albemarle." 1863 June 28.

Professor John B. Minor and prominent local citizens Eugene Davis, Slaughter W. Ficklin, and Egbert R. Watson responded to a call from Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon and rallied the local citizens to arms on June 28, 1863. On June 23, a Union cavalry raid from Yorktown, Virginia, had burned the Central Railroad bridge over the South Anna River and rumors had reached Richmond that Union General John A. Dix had 25,000 men at Williamsburg and 5,000 more at White House on the Pamunkey and was preparing to march. With the main body of the Confederate Army moving into Pennsylvania, Virginia would have to rely on local militia to repulse any Federal strikes.