Assignment: Examine two newspaper articles, one from the Richmond Dispatch entitled, "Slave Requisitions," and the other from the Lynchburg Virginian, entitled "To the Citizens of Lynchburg and County of Campbell." Then answer the following questions.

Level 1 questions:

The Richmond Dispatch article:

1. What is a requisition?

2. According to the Richmond Dispatch, what was the purpose of the actions taken by the Henrico County Court on February 11, 1864?

3. What were the people listed in the Dispatch article supposed to do?

4. What does the number opposite each person's name on the list indicate?

5. What two things would happen if anyone listed failed to comply with the Court's order?

B. The Lynchburg Virginian article:

1. What is the purpose of the list published in the Lynchburg Virginian?

2. What work were the slaves being required to do?

3. What are fortifications?

Level 2 questions:

A. The Richmond Dispatch article:

1. The article reported that ". . . the Court having heard the excuses of certain persons named in said list, erased their name from the same, and for reasons appearing added to the said list the names of others, and classified certain persons for the draft."

a. In your own words explain the meaning of the above quote.
b. What kinds of excuses do you think were offered to the Court? Why do you think they were offered?
c. What action did the Court take when it "classified certain persons for the draft"?
d. What are the similarities and differences between the two articles?

Level 3 questions:

1. Imagine you are one of the men on the list and you have gone to Court to answer this order:

a. What would you say?
b. Would you accept the order or resist it? Why or why not?

2. What do these articles suggest about how the war was going for the Confederacy? Explain.

3. Speculate about what these articles tell about the status of slavery by 1864. Explain.

4. Read the excerpt from Reverend Massey's interview. What does it suggest about how slaves may have felt about these Court orders?