From Brandy Station, Virginia topics include Rutherford contracting a condition through a cut in his thumb by dressing a man's arm who had Erycipelas (an infectious disease evidenced by a deep red inflammation of the skin). Rutherford acknowledges his carelessness and was aware of how germs and bacteria can spread from person to person, of his near misses of being wounded in battle, of standing ready to march and of receiving letters from daughter Helen.