Assignment: Read the letter from Nelia W. of Edge Hill plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia, to her cousin, Bettie, dated April 28, 1864. In this letter Nelia discusses family news and the recent invasion of Col. George Armstrong Custer's Union troops through Albemarle County in March 1864.

Level 1:
1. What two family members of Nelia's are about to enter the Confederate army?

2. How does Nelia describe the Yankee invasion?

3. What did the government do which affected their food supply?

Level 2:
1. Does Nelia have a positive or negative attitude about her male relatives who will soon join the Confederate army? Explain.

2. What did the Yankee invasion reveal to Nelia about herself?

3. What hardships does the letter reveal that women such as Nelia faced?

4. Nelia wrote the letter in April 1864, after three years of war. What does the letter suggest about her attitude toward the war? Explain.