In March 1865, the Civil War between the North and South and had been going on for four years. The armies of the North were fighting their way to Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate states. Many people thought that if the northern troops captured Richmond, the war would be over. Fifteen-year-old Willie Kettles worked as a telegraph operator in the War Department building in Washington. President Abraham Lincoln stopped by the telegraph office daily to get the latest reports from the battlefields. Would good news from Richmond ever arrive? Will Willie be ready to take the message?In the back of this book, you ll find a script and instructions for putting on a reader s theater performance of this adventure. Download additional copies of the script plus sound effects, background images, and more ideas that will help make your reader s theater performance a success through Lerner eSource.

Marty Rhodes Figley is the author of sixteen books, mostly about her favorite subject—remarkable people from our country's past. She earned her B.A. in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College. Marty, whose two children are grown, lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Paul, and their Airedale terrier, Scarlett.