The 57th Virginia Infantry was one of five regiments in General Lewis Armistead's Brigade in Pickett's Charge, at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Prior to being Brigadier General, Armistead commanded the 57th Virginia. About 1,800 men joined the 57th, primarily from Franklin, Pittsylvania, Buckingham, Botetourt, and Albemarle County, but at least 15 bordering counties contributed men. Initial enlistments were from May-July of 1861, with the nucleus coming from 5 companies of Keen's Battalion. This publication gives detail on the battles, from Malvern Hill to Appomattox, and the prison camps many suffered through. The core of the book, however, is a quest for basic genealogical data on the men of the 57th Virginia, with a focus on their parents, wives, and location in 1860.

The 38th Virginia Infantry was organized in May and June of 1861, in the southern Virginia counties of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg. Seven of the ten Companies were recruited in Pittsylvania, thus it was called the Pittsylvania Regiment. Less than a year prior, census takers unknowingly finished recording for posterity the men who would go to war. An in depth study shows seven Virginia counties and six North Carolina counties bordering the recruitment area of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg would contribute men to the 38th Virginia. The 38th Virginia Infantry was in the field of battle from Yorktown in April of 1862, to Appomattox on April 9, 1865. The largest losses suffered were at battles of 7 Pines, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Chester Station, and the 2nd Battle of Drewry's Bluff. Herein is detail on the orders of battles, the prison camps endured, and the names of parents and wives of the soldiers, with focus on the census of 1860.

The Logan Guards and Chatham Grays were in the 53rd Virginia Infantry, one of the five regiments under Brigadier General Lewis Armistead at Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. This book gives the storyline of the 53rd Virginia, including order of battles, prison camps endured, and casualties per battle. The book centers on finding the genealogy of the men of Pittsylvania County. Prior works by the author are two books which extensively covered the genealogy of Pittsylvania County soldiers: ""38th Virginia Infantry: Finding the Men in the 1860 Census"" and ""57th Virginia Infantry: Finding the Men in the 1860 Census"".

From my study of the various companies that were predominately Pittsylvania men, I found over 100 men in those companies came from Henry County. The Henry County men who traveled to Pittsylvania to enlist were most prevalent in Company K of the 38th Virginia Infantry and Company F of the 57th Virginia Infantry. A dozen or more were scattered throughout the Danville Artillery, the 18th Virginia, the 21st Virginia and the 53rd Virginia Infantries. The 9th, 14th, 38th, 53rd, and 57th Virginia Infantries would be in Lewis A. Armistead's Brigade as of May of 1862, so three of five regiments had Henry County men. Battles would include Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Chester Station, Drewry's Bluff, Five Forks, and Appomattox. The 18th Virginia Infantry would participate in the same battles, but were also present at the 1st Battle of Manassas.In previous books, I worked on finding Civil War soldiers primarily from Pittsylvania County. My strategy was to go through every page of the 1860 Pittsylvania County census, making note of all men born between 1818-1846. There would be a small percentage of soldiers that did not fit the age range that I planned on searching for later. I apply the same strategy here. There were 178 pages of the 1860 census of Henry County, with room for 40 names per page, so nearly 7,200 people. I listed my interpretation of the names of men in Henry County in 1860 who were born between 1818-1846. That number was 1,426 men. The next step would be to search, man by man, for matching records in the service records.

Peter Sickman, Sr. (ca. 1745-1837) lived in Franklin County, Virginia. His first wife was believed to be Mary Hale. His second wife was Catherine Nosseman Willis, a widow. At the time of Peter's death, his name was spelled "Sigmon". Descendants remain largely in the Virginias.

The book rings with the names of early inhabitants and prominent citizens. For the genealogist there is the important and wholly fortuitous list of tithables of Pittsylvania County for the year 1767, which enumerates the names of nearly 1,000 landowners and property holders, amounting in sum to a rough census of the county in its infancy. Additional lists include the names, some with inclusive dates of service, of sheriffs, justices of the peace, members of the House of Delegates, 1776-1928, members of the Senate of Virginia, 1776-1928, clerks of the court, and judges.