“After giving much thought to the matter, I have decided that letters from loved ones fighting abroad are as much a lifeline for those of us who wait for their safe return as our letters from home are for them. Those of us who wait hope for news with every breath and dread the same for we know not what it may bring. We dwell in the realm of make-believe. Where we make believe that our loved ones are fine, that they suffer no hardships, and that they long for home and the comfort of our arms. We pray it will be so. But we know that for many of us, that will not be the case…
—Alyssa, Lady Abernathy, diary entry, 16 July 1810