Boys of Diamond Hill: The Lives and Civil War Letters of the Boyd Family of Abberville County

The Civil War letters collected here detail the hardships and triumphs of six men of the Boyd family who left the family farm in South Carolina and joined the Confederate Army. This is the first time all of the letters have been collected together. The addition of letters from family friends and military associates of the brothers expands the perspective to include more events in the eastern and western theaters, at the front lines, and on the home front. Editorial comments for each letter give background on what was happening in the war and explain details on people and places mentioned in the letters. The letters reveal details about life and combat in three Confederate armies, as well as their authors' attitudes on politics and religion. An epilogue explains the fates of each man (all but one died in the war) and the fates of significant others mentioned in the letters. Appendices give information on the five related families mentioned in the letters, and provide rosters for the companies the brothers belonged to. Jones, a computer industry veteran, is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

J. Keith Jones is a native of Georgia now living in Graham, North Carolina. A University of South Carolina graduate and a computer industry veteran, he is the author of the novel In Due Time.