Militia Colonel John Ellis of San Francisco, California was visiting the east coast in the summer of 1861. Four of his brothers were serving in General Irvin McDowell’s Army of Northeastern Virginia. With the army moving out to attack Beauregard’s rebels at Manassas Junction, Ellis attached himself to the 71st New York National Guard regiment which played a prominent role in the fighting on Matthews Hill at the Battle of Bull Run. His brother Captain Henry Ashfield “Ash” Ellis of the 79th New York “Highlanders” was wounded in the battle.
Click the link below to read his story, written on August 2, 1861:
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