Introduction

 

            Ernest Boyer (1995), author of The Basic School: A Community for Learning, tells us that all parts of the natural world are blended together in a majestic, inspiring way, just as a good curriculum should be. According to his research, nine out of ten teachers agree. They support an . integrated approach. to teaching, as opposed to a . separate subjects. method. Most teachers know that when students study separate subjects they pick up isolated facts, failing to gain a coherent view of knowledge and a more integrated authentic view of life. Following Boyer. s assertions, this integrated teaching/learning package on the Civil War does just that.

            Student centered but teacher directed, . Peace and Reunification. introduces the student to the emotional issues and bitter conflicts taking place in American history during the years preceding the Civil War. It leads them up to the secession of the eleven Southern states and the devastating tragedies occurring during the war years. Finally, the unit brings them to the war. s dramatic conclusion at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9 -12, 1865 and gives them a glimpse of the next twelve years of turbulence thereafter known as Reconstruction.

            Designed for fourth and fifth graders, . Peace and Reunification. blends all parts of the curriculum together into twenty-five lessons covering some aspect of the Virginia Standards of Learning. Following a traditional format, each lesson covers such broad topics as listening/speaking, reading, mathematics, social studies, art/music, science, writing, special activities, and assessment. It breaks those topics down into more manageable ideas such as: presenting oral reports, reading nonfiction and historical fiction, budgeting, map studies, artists, influence of human activity on the Earth. s ecosystem, researching key battles, completing oral reports, planning a field trip to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, and accessing the Internet to visit Civil War sites. Each lesson cites each Virginia Standard of Learning covered by that particular lesson. The integrated/teaching learning package also includes an abridged summary of the Civil War for nonfiction reading, primary source documents, pictures, worksheets, and an extensive resource list of books, web sites, records, cassettes, CDs, videos, addresses, and phone numbers. all dealing with information on the Civil War.

 

 

Table of Contents
Introduction Table of Contents Graphics Organizer Social Studies Writing Reading, Science, and Math Activities Objectives and Lesson 1

Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8 Lesson 9 Lesson 10 Lesson 11

Lesson 12 Lesson 13 Lesson 14 Lesson 15 Lesson 16 Lesson 17 Lesson 18 Lesson 19 Lesson 20 Lesson 21

Lesson 22 Lesson 23 Lesson 24 Lesson 25

 

Introduction                                                                                                                 

Table of Contents                                                                                                         

Graphic Organizer for Integrated Teaching/Learning Package                                            

Activities for Integrated Teaching/Learning Package                                                     

Instructional Objectives for Integrated Teaching/Learning Package                        

Lesson 1 . What Do I Know About the Civil War?                                               

            Know, Wonder, How, Learn                                                                               

Lesson 2 . Reading Historical Fiction                                                                            

            Other Historical Fiction Books With Civil War Themes                                         

Lesson 3 . Reading Historical Nonfiction                                                            

            From Fort Sumter, South Carolina to Appomattox Court House, Virginia      

            Other Nonfiction Books With Civil War Themes                                                   

Lesson 4 . Time Line of Key Civil War Events                                                                

Lesson 5 . Key Events Leading Up to the Secession of the Eleven Southern States       

Lesson 6 -  Key Events Taking Place During the Civil War                                   

Lesson 7 . Key Events Taking Place After the Civil War                                                  

Lesson 8 . Key Civil War Figures                                                                                  

Lesson 9 . Major Leaders of the Civil War                                                                      

Lesson 10 . Some Major Battles of the Civil War                                                            

Lesson 11 . The Effects of War and Destruction on the Earth. s Fragile Ecosystem         

            The Effects of War and Destruction on the Earth. s Fragile Ecosystem                   

Lesson 12 . Advances in Technology                                                                            

Lesson 13 . Key Virginia Civil War Battle Sites                                                              

Lesson 14 . Camp Life: Accessing the Internet                                                              

            Camp Life: Accessing the Internet                                                                     

Lesson 15 . Hardtack                                                                                                  

            Recipes                                                                                                          

Lesson 16 . Substitutions!                                                                                            

Lesson 17 . Inflation!                                                                                                    

            Inflation!                                                                                                          

Lesson 18 . Recording the Civil War Through Art                                                

Lesson 19 . Recording the Civil War Through Music                                                       

Lesson 20 . Lee. s Retreat                                                                                            

Lesson 21 . Surrender                                                                                                 

Lesson 22 . Planning a Field Trip to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park  

Itinerary for Field Trip to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park        

Budget Worksheet for Field Trip                                                                         

Lesson 23 . Map Study of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park                    

Lesson 24 . A Field Trip to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park                   

            Scavenger Hunt List for Appomattox Court House National Historical Park         

Lesson 25 . What Did I Learn About the Civil War?                                                         

            Final Questionnaire on the Civil War and Lee. s Surrender                         

Resources                                                                                                             

Appendix                                                                                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Organizer for Integrated Teaching/Learning Package

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

(Fourth and Fifth Grades)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activities for Integrated Teaching/Learning Package

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

(Fourth and Fifth Grades)

 

Social Studies

 

research, create, and illustrate a time line of key Civil War events

 

December, 1860 . South Carolina secedes from Union

Jan., Feb., 1861 . Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana secede from Union

March, 1861 . Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated 16th president of the United States (Union)

April 12, 1861 . Attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina . Civil War begins

April, May, 1861 . Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina secede from the Union

July, 1861 . First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run

March, 1862 . Battle of . U.S.S. Monitor. and . C.S.S. Virginia.

April, 1862 . Battle of Shiloh

August, 1862 . Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run

September, 1862 . Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg

December, 1862 . Battle of Fredericksburg

January, 1863 . Emancipation Proclamation

May, 1863 . Battle of Chancellorsville

May - July, 1863 . Battles for Vicksburg

June, 1863 . West Virginia separates from Virginia and becomes 35th state

July, 1863 . Battle of Gettysburg

November, 1863 . Battle of Chattanooga

May, 1864 . Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

June, 1864 . Battle of Cold Harbor

June, 1864 - April, 1865 . Siege of Petersburg

July, 1864 . Battle of Atlanta

November, December, 1864 . Sherman. s . March to the Sea.

November, 1864 . Lincoln is re-elected president of the United States

April 2 - 9, 1865 . Lee. s retreat

April 3, 1865 . The fall of Richmond

April 9, 1865 . Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House, Virginia

April 12, 1865 . Formal surrender takes place at Appomattox Court House, Virginia

April 14, 1865 . Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

1865 - 1877 . Reconstruction of the South

 

complete map studies of the state of Virginia

 

plot routes to Appomattox Court House, Virginia from school

 

locate key towns along Lee. s retreat route

 

                                    Petersburg                                Rice. s Depot

                                    Sutherland Station                     Farmville

                                    Amelia Court House                   Cumberland Church

                                    Jetersville                                  Appomattox Court House

                                    Deatonville

 

Note: Sutherland Station became Sutherland, Deatonville is shown on some maps; not on others. Rice. s Depot became Rice. Cumberland Church does not appear on modern maps.

 

 

 

locate key Virginia Civil War Sites

 

                                    Manassas                                 Cold Harbor

                                    Shenandoah Valley                    Fredericksburg

                                    Petersburg                                Chancellorsville

                                    Richmond                                  Spotsylvania Court House

                                    Appomattox Court House

                       

Note: Some of these towns have been preserved as Civil War battlefields. Cold Harbor was located slightly southeast of Mechanicsville, Virginia on Rt. 156.

 

complete map study of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

 

identify key map symbols

identify key sites in the park

identify geometric shapes associated with the park. s layout

 

make Civil War recipes

 

hard tack

salt pork and hard bread

substitute items used during the blockade of Southern ports

 

view primary source Civil War documents                                          economics

 

a . Paroled Prisoner. pass                                                                       substitutions

General Lee. s acceptance letter                                                              inflation

General Grant. s terms of surrender letter

a copy of Lee. s Farewell Address

a copy of Lee. s Amnesty Oath

battlefield pictures

 

Writing

 

research major leaders

 

                        President Abraham Lincoln                     General Thomas J. . Stonewall. Jackson

                        General George B. McClellan                  General Robert E. Lee

                        General Ulysses S. Grant                       General James Longstreet

                        General William T. Sherman                   General J.E.B. Stuart

                        General Philip Sheridan                          General Jubal Early

                        President Jefferson Davis                        General Irvin McDowell

                        General Joseph Hooker                          General Joseph E. Johnston

 

research key battles

 

                        Fort Sumter, South Carolina                    Battle of Gettysburg

                        First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run           Battle of Chattanooga

                        Battle of Shiloh                                      Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

                        Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run       Battle of Cold Harbor

                        Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg                 Siege of Petersburg

                        Battle of Fredericksburg              Battle of Atlanta

                        Battle of Chancellorsville             Battles for Vicksburg

 

 

research key events leading up to the secession of the eleven Southern states

 

                        Fugitive Slave Laws                                Kansas-Nebraska Act

                        Compromise of 1820                              John Brown. s Raid on Harper. s Ferry

                        Compromise of 1850                              Dred Scott Decision

                        Nat Turner. s Rebellion                            publication of Uncle Tom. s Cabin by

                        Underground Railroad                                  Harriet Beecher Stowe

                        election of Abraham Lincoln                    secession of the Southern states

                        secession of Virginia

 

research key events occurring during the war

 

                        Abraham Lincoln. s re-election                             fall of Richmond

                        Lee. s retreat                                                      Lee. s surrender

                        Sherman. s . March to the Sea.                             Gettysburg Address

                        Emancipation Proclamation                                Battle of the U.S.S. Monitor  &

                        West Virginia becomes a state, 1863                       the C.S.S. Virginia

 

research key events occurring after the war

 

                        assassination of President Lincoln                       Reconstruction

                        Jim Crow Laws                                                  Freedmen. s Bureau

                        Black Codes                                                      13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments

 

research important figures

 

            John C. Calhoun                        Daniel Webster                          Robert Anderson

            Frederick Douglass                    Belle Boyd                                Sojourner Truth

            Rose O. Neal Greenhow              Harriet Tubman                          Colonel Ely Parker

            Clara Barton                              Dorothea Dix                             John Wilkes Booth

            William Lloyd Garrison

 

Reading

 

                        historical fiction:

 

                                    Polacco, P. (1994). Pink and Say. New York: Philomel Books.

                                    Lyon, G. E. (1994). Here and Then. New York: Orchard Books.

 

                        nonfiction:

                       

                                    Kirk, L. R. (1998). From Fort Sumter, South Carolina to Appomattox                                  CourtHouse, Virginia: A Brief Summary of the Civil War: April 12, 1861 . April      

                        12, 1865 (unpublished article).

 

Science

 

                        influence of human activity (war and destruction) on the Earth. s ecosystem

                        advances in technology: medicine, chemistry, submarine warfare, hot air

                        balloons, telegraph, and anesthesia

 

 

 

 

Mathematics

 

computation, estimation, measurement, geometry:

 

budget trip to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

figure the miles by using the scale of miles key on a map of Virginia

identify geometric shapes on a map of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

 

Special Activities                                             Listening/Speaking

 

field trip to:                                                                              share research projects

                                                                                                read Civil War books

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park             listen to Civil War songs

Route 24                                                                                   share time line drawings

Appomattox, Virginia 24522                                                        watch video

 

displays:

 

all works created from the study

all items purchased on field trip

 

                       Art                                                Music

 

                   research:                                             research:

 

                        Thomas Nast                                         John Hill Hewitt

                        Mathew Brady                                       Daniel Decatur Emmitt

                        Winslow Homer                                     Julia Ward Howe

                        Alfred Waud                                          Joel, Sam, & Richard Sweeney

                        Conrad Wise Chapman                           Walter Kittredge

                        Edwin Forbes

 

 

Assessment

 

displays

oral and written reports

KWHL charts

questionnaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructional Objectives for Integrated Teaching/Learning Package

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

(Fourth and Fifth Grades)

Table of Contents

 

 

Upon completion of this Civil War unit, students in Grade Four will be able to:

 

·         describe conflicts between the northern and southern states, and the events leading to secession.

 

·         locate and identify on maps the major routes used by the armies during the Appomattox           campaign.

 

·         describe Virginia. s role in the Civil War and Robert E. Lee. s surrender at Appomattox Court       House.

 

·         describe Reconstruction. s impact on the economic and social life of Virginia.

 

·         develop historical analysis skills using primary sources, including artifacts, diaries, letters,        photographs, art, documents, and newspapers.

 

Students in Grade Five will be able to:

 

·         identify causes, key events, and effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

 

·         identify leaders on both sides of the war, including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant,             Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Frederick Douglass.

 

·         explain critical developments in the war, including major battles, the Emancipation        Proclamation, and Lee. s surrender at Appomattox Court House.

 

·         describe life on the battlefield and on the home front.

 

·         discuss the basic provisions and post war impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to        the United States Constitution and the impact of Reconstruction policies on the South.

 

·         discuss a current conflict or issue in the context of this lesson and provide possible methods     for resolving conflict.

 

·         develop skills for historical analysis, including the ability to identify, analyze, and interpret         primary sources and contemporary media to better understand events and life in United       States history.

 

Teachers will be able to:

 

·         integrate and implement the new curricula with their students.

 

·         list most park resources, programs, and offerings related to education at Appomattox Court       House National Historical Park.

 

·         plan and organize a field visit to the park using the instructional package materials to develop    a curriculum-based education program.

 

 

 

Lesson 1

 

. What Do I Know About the Civil War?.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: One class period

 

Standards of Learning: Research (4.9, 5.8)

 

General Objectives: Students will complete a . Know, Wonder, How, Learn. chart as an introduction to the Civil War. It will assist students in linking prior knowledge with new knowledge, as well as offer the teacher some insights into what the students already know about a given topic.

 

Materials: Copy of . Know, Wonder, How, Learn. chart (see page 10).

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that they are beginning an exciting unit on the Civil War. They will be involved in many activities. language arts, social studies, art, music, math, science, listening, speaking, map studies, and research. throughout the course of the unit. As a culminating project, they will help plan a field trip to, and then visit, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in Appomattox, Virginia. But, before they begin, you want to find out what they already know about the subject.  Have students complete a . Know, Wonder, How, Learn. chart.

 

Procedure: Pass out copies of the . Know, Wonder, How, Learn. chart. Ask students to individually complete the chart according to its directions, completing only the . Know,. . Wonder,. and . How. sections. The . Learn. section will be completed at the culmination of the unit.

 

NOTE: This chart might also be transferred to a large sheet of paper, displayed, and used as a guide for the unit.

 

Closure: Ask students to comment on what they already know, or think they know, about the Civil War, what they wonder about this tragic part of American history, and how they might find more information. Collect and save the charts for further completion. Ask the students to bring from home any artifacts that might be related to the Civil War. books, magazines, pictures, flags, buttons, bullets, pins, etc.  DO NOT bring guns or weapons to school. 

 

Evaluation: Partially completed . Know, Wonder, How, Learn. charts.

 

NOTE:  Collect as many encyclopedias, atlases, books, magazines, primary source documents, and articles as possible related to the Civil War. especially picture books and primary source documents. for classroom display and use. Also, find some books that include the paintings, drawings, pictures, or sketches by such Civil War artists as Mathew Brady, Winslow Homer, Alfred Waud, and Thomas Nast. Locate CDs, records, and cassette tapes containing songs of the Civil War. Gather one or two Civil War videos if possible. Libraries, both university and county, are filled with such materials. Use the resource section found on pages 55 - 58 of this integrated Civil War unit as a resource. You can write to Eastern National, P.O. Box 327, Appomattox, VA 24522, or call (804) 352- 2136 for Civil War publications for sale at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, many of which are referenced in this thematic unit.

 

Do not display any outside materials until after you have completed the . Know, Wonder, How, Learn. chart recommended for Lesson 1. Get a feel for what the students already know about the Civil War based on their prior knowledge first.

 

Know, Wonder, How, Learn

 

Name: __________________________  Date: ________________  Subject:  The Civil War

 

Write 5 things you already know about the Civil War in the Know column; write 5 things you wonder about the Civil War in the Wonder column; and write 5 ways to find more information about the Civil War in the How column. After you study the Civil War, write 5 things you learned in the Learn column.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

                        Know . What do I Know about the Civil War?

 

1.____________________________________________________________________________

 

2.____________________________________________________________________________

 

3.____________________________________________________________________________

 

4.____________________________________________________________________________

 

5. ___________________________________________________________________________

                        Wonder . What do I Wonder about the Civil War?

 

1.____________________________________________________________________________

 

2.____________________________________________________________________________

 

3.____________________________________________________________________________

 

4.____________________________________________________________________________

 

5.____________________________________________________________________________

                        How . How will I find more information about the Civil War?

 

1.____________________________________________________________________________

 

2.____________________________________________________________________________

 

3.____________________________________________________________________________

 

4.____________________________________________________________________________

 

5.____________________________________________________________________________

                        Learn . What did I Learn about the Civil War?

 

1.____________________________________________________________________________

 

2.____________________________________________________________________________

 

3.____________________________________________________________________________

 

4.____________________________________________________________________________

 

5.____________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 2

 

. Reading Historical Fiction.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Reading/Literature (4.4, 5.5)

 

General Objectives: After reading the assigned historical fiction, students will be more familiar with a portion of our nation. s history that was humanly demoralizing for some and reaped tragic consequences upon others.

 

Materials: A copy, or multiple copies, of Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco or Here and Then by George Ella Lyon.

 

Pink and Say is the story of two boys, fifteen-year-old Union soldiers.  Say is white; Pink is African American.  Say, injured in a fierce battle somewhere in Georgia is left for dead.  He is rescued by Pink from the blood-soaked, muddy battlefield.  Pink hides Say, carrying him by moonlight to his mother, Moe Bay, who nurses him back to health.

 

Here and Then is the story of Abby, a twentieth century, twelve-year-old, girl, who finds a way of getting medical supplies back through time to a Civil War nurse working in the midst of a battle.  It all starts when Abby visits a Civil War site in Kentucky with her parents and falls asleep in an abandoned house on the edge of the battlefield.  The ghost of a Civil War nurse notifies Abby she is running out of medical supplies for the wounded soldiers by writing a plea for help in her diary.

 

NOTE: The aim of this second lesson is to intrigue the students and get them interested in the Civil War. a topic many of them already know and are fascinated with. Both books are selected for that purpose. They are relatively short, may be read in just a few sessions, and deal with interests most fourth and fifth graders are fascinated with---friendships, the horrors of war, and ghosts. They are rather easy to read. These books are only suggestions. See p. 12 for other historical fiction books, which might better suit individual purposes, teaching strategies, or styles.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that as an introduction to the Civil War they will begin by reading historical fiction. stories made up and plotted around true historical events.

 

Procedure: Pass out copies of the book. It is best that each student have his/her own copy. If you are using only one copy, prepare the children for the whole class reading. The books are to be read for interest. s sake. not for skill. s sake. Read them for the pure joy of reading!

 

Closure: After each reading, generate a discussion centering around the elements of fiction: characters (Who are they?), setting(s) (Where does the story take place?), plot (What is the story about. told in as few words as possible?), theme(s) (What lesson(s) is the story trying to teach?), mood (How does the story make you feel?), climax (What was the most exciting part of the story?), point of view (Who. s telling the story?).

 

Evaluation: Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students. reactions to the readings and the closure questions. Carefully watching students. reactions helps in gaining a subjective feel for the quality of thinking and enthusiasm taking place among students. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Historical Fiction Books With Civil War Themes

 

 

Alphin, E. M. (1991). Ghost Cadet.  New York: Scholastic Inc.

 

Beatty, P. (1997). Charley Skedaddle.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

 

Burchhard, P. (1967). Jed: The Story of a Yankee Soldier and a Southern Boy. Eau Claire, WI:

            Hale.

 

Fleishman, P. (1993). Bull Run.  New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

 

Gauch, P. L. (1975). Thunder at Gettysburg. New York: Putnam.

 

Hunt, I. (1964). Across Five Aprils. Chicago: Follett Publishers Company.

 

Kassem, L.  (1986). Listen for Rachel.  New York: Avon Books.

 

Keith, H. (1957). Rifles for Watie. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.

 

Reeder, C. (1989). Shades of Gray.  New York: Macmillan.

 

Steele, W. O. (1958). The Perilous Road.  New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.

 

Winter, J. (1988). Follow the Drinking Gourd.  New York: Knopf.

Lesson 3

 

. Reading Historical Nonfiction.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Reading/Literature (4.4, 4.5, 5.5, 5.6); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4, 4.5); United States History to 1877 (5.7, 5.8, 5.10)

 

General Objectives: After reading the assigned text, nonfiction materials centered around the Civil War, the students will be able to more thoroughly appraise this tragic part of American history, as well as to assess its long term consequences.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary: From Fort Sumter, South Carolina to Appomattox Court House, Virginia: A Brief Summary of the Civil War: April 12, 1861 . April 12, 1865 (see pp.14-23).

 

From Fort Sumter, South Carolina to Appomattox Court House, Virginia: A Brief Summary of the Civil War: April 12, 1861 . April 12, 1865, written by the author of this integrated thematic unit, is very brief.  It begins with the abolitionist movement, emphasizes major battles and leaders, moves quickly to the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, briefly touches upon Reconstruction, and ends with a simple description of the artists and musicians who captured the war through art and song.

 

NOTE: See p. 24 for other nonfiction books, which might better suit individual purposes, teaching strategies, or styles. However, future lessons require Civil War summary. pp.14-23.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that in order for them to more fully understand the Civil War, they must assess important matters concerning this tragic part of Virginia. s, as well as America. s, history. They must become familiar with primary battles, key figures, important leaders, and major events that took place before, during, and after the war. They will read a short summary of the war beginning with several main events leading up to the secession of the Southern states. Next, they will learn about the start of the war with the firing on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, April 12, 1861, by Confederate forces. Then, they will read about the many destructive battles, which took place over the war. s long four-year history, especially in Virginia. Finally, they will discover the dramatic conclusion of the war at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865, and read about the post-war Reconstruction period.

 

Procedure: Pass out copies of the reading. It is best that each student have his/her own copy. If you are using only one copy, prepare the children for the whole class reading. The summary is to be read as an overview of the war not to memorize facts, dates, places, or events. Read for historical information but most importantly, for the pure pleasure of reading.

 

Closure: After the reading, generate a discussion centered around major events, key figures, important leaders, and primary battles. Focus particularly on the sequence of happenings taking place just before, during, and after the war. Through discussion, summarize the major points of this particular lesson.

 

Evaluation: Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students. reactions to the readings, as well as the closure discussion. Carefully watching students. reactions helps in gaining a subjective feel for the quality of thinking and enthusiasm taking place among students.

 

 

 

 

From Fort Sumter, South Carolina to Appomattox Court House, Virginia:

A Brief Summary of the American Civil War

April 12, 1861 . April 12, 1865

 

            As a young, emerging nation, the United States faced many difficulties.  Perhaps the most troubling surrounded the debate over slavery, states. rights, and equal protection of the states by the Constitution of the United States. Seething and boiling, these emotional issues came to a head in the mid-1800s.

 

Abolitionists

 

            Abolitionists had for many years wanted to abolish slavery, the keeping of a person against his or her will for work purposes without pay. They viewed such a practice as morally wrong. Among them, Frederick Douglass, the son of a white father and a slave mother, having escaped from slavery in 1838 and living in New York, fought for civil rights throughout the rest of his life. Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave who moved to New York City, also fought for the abolishment of slavery.  Harriet Tubman, an ex-slave who escaped to freedom and fled to Pennsylvania fought against slavery. She made many trips into the South and led slaves to freedom on what would become known as the Underground Railroad, a network of homes and churches whose congregations and owners had agreed to secretly clothe, feed, and shelter runaway slaves. William Lloyd Garrison, one of the most vocal and well-known abolitionists in the history of the United States, made speeches and wrote articles attacking slavery. His most famous contribution to the abolitionist movement included his newspaper, The Liberator.  In it he warned the nation of the evils of slavery and the need to abolish it.  Harriet Beecher Stowe, a strong abolitionist wrote Uncle Tom. s Cabin, an antislavery novel of such force that it is often listed among the causes of the Civil War. First published serially, 1851- 52, it tells the story of Uncle Tom, a kind and gentle house slave. Simon Legree, a cruel overseer, beats Uncle Tom to death.  Uncle Tom. s Cabin helped popularize the abolitionist movement.

            Abolitionists encouraged slaves to rebel, and such uprisings did occur. On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner, who lived on a plantation in Southampton County, Virginia, led a group of about sixty slaves in rebellion against their owners. They rose up in the middle of the night and armed themselves with corn knives, axes, and scythes and attacked their white owners while they slept. Between fifty and sixty white men, women, and children died. Nat Turner and many of his followers were later captured and hanged; others fled the country.

 

Slave Labor

 

            Southerners, mostly farmers, needed slave labor to work their large farms or plantations. Unlike the North, whose economy centered on business, industry, and paid wages, they could not afford to pay the hundreds of workers it took to run such large agricultural establishments. Besides, they argued, states should have the right to decide whether they wanted to abolish slavery or not, not the federal government. and certainly not individuals who advocated abolition. Furthermore, they were beginning to feel that the Constitution of the United States no longer protected their rights as United States citizens. Through the work of Northern politicians, protective tariffs, or taxes which injured Southern agriculture and business, had been imposed. Also, Northern politicians pushed for the development of roads and canals in the West against the interests of the South. Furthermore, abolitionists openly defied the Fugitive Slave Laws by not returning runaway slaves to their owners. Fugitive Slave Laws, passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and in 1850, said that all runaway slaves, by law, should be returned to their masters. Yet, abolitionists were not being punished for breaking these laws.

    

The Spread of Slavery

 

            As the country advanced westward, debates arose over whether slavery should spread into the newly developed western territories and who should decide. Most Southerners favored the spread of slavery. But, of course, there was little support for such activity by Northerners. Hopefully, to end the debate forever, the United States Congress in 1820 drew up the Missouri Compromise. Called the Compromise of 1820 it stated that Missouri would be admitted to the Union as a slave state but no new states formed above the southern border of Missouri would be allowed in as slave states. However, the arguments, quarrels, and debates became even more intense and in 1850, the United States Congress, once again, attempting to end the dispute over the spread of slavery, passed a series of five laws. These laws enraged people in both the North and the South even more. Called the Compromise of 1850 and supported by Daniel Webster, a Northerner who endorsed federal aid for roads in the West, the compromise allowed California to be admitted to the Union as a free state. It allowed the territories of New Mexico and Utah to enter the Union with or without slavery. It let Texas settle its boundary claims with the federal government, prohibited slave trade. not slavery. in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), and, it passed a more stringent, or stricter, Fugitive Slave Law.

John C. Calhoun, born in South Carolina, the son of a slaveholder, and once serving as vice-president under John Quincy Adams, opposed the Compromise of 1850. Elected to the Senate as a representative from South Carolina, he acted as a powerful spokesman for slavery and its expansion into Western territories. He secured the passage of the Gag Rules that forbade discussion of slavery on the floor of Congress. He predicted that the Union, the United States of America, would dissolve and civil war would result if the rights of Southerners to expand slavery into the Western territories were not respected.

 

Bitter Conflict

 

            Northerners and Southerners constantly quarreled over slavery and whether states or Congress should have the right to decide if slavery would be allowed in the territories. The bitter conflict reared its ugly head once again in 1854 with the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed settlers in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether they wanted to own slaves or not. In 1857, another incident angered abolitionists. It involved a decision made by the Supreme Court of the United States concerning Dred Scott, a slave, and his owner, John Sandford. Dred Scott, born in Missouri, had been taken into the state of Illinois, and the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden. Later, when Dred Scott returned to Missouri with his owner, he brought suit against his owner saying that since he had lived in a free territory, Illinois, he should be considered a free man. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled against him. Sold to a master who lived in New York, another free state, Dred Scott went to court again saying that since he now lived in a free state, even though he had been born in a slave state, he should be free. Once again the courts ruled against him. Scott. s lawyers then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court ruled that a black slave could not become a citizen under the United States Constitution. Called the Dred Scott Decision, the court. s ruling angered abolitionists. They felt that the Supreme Court, through their decision, supported slavery.

            John Brown, a powerful abolitionist from Connecticut, felt the only way that slaves could ever be set free was through massive slave uprisings. He gained support from other abolitionists and on October 16, 1859, eighteen months before the Civil War began, led a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He and a small band of men seized the town and occupied the federal arsenal located there. Federal troops, led by Robert E. Lee, arrived the next day capturing him and killing several of his men. John Brown was hanged for insurrection, murder, and treason. Abolitionists hailed him as a noble martyr; Southerners were outraged by his actions.

            Such differences in opinion and often bitter and bloody conflicts pushed the United States closer to Civil War.  This would lead to an undertaking by some, called secessionists, to split the developing nation in two.  These controversial subjects led to the secession of eleven Southern states from the Union, the United States of America, and to the attempt to create another, the Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy. This desperate, destructive struggle to create two nations out of one country on the same soil raged across the young, unfurling American landscape for four long years.

 

 

Secession of the South

 

            The issues surrounding slavery, states. rights, and equal protection of the states under the Constitution became more intense with the election of Abraham Lincoln as sixteenth president of the United States of America in 1860. Perceived as an abolitionist, the South Carolina legislature viewed him as a threat. They feared he would abolish slavery altogether, even though he said he had no plans to end slavery in those states where it already existed. The government officials of South Carolina met and decided to secede from the United States of America. They believed in the . right of secession.. In other words, since they had joined such a union of their own free will, the Constitution of the United States gave them the right to withdraw from such a union of their own free will. Therefore, South Carolina left the Union, and then six more states. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. followed soon thereafter. On February 8, 1861, they formed the Confederate States of America, established a constitution similar to the United States Constitution, except they gave more power to the states, and elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as president. Montgomery, Alabama became the first capital of the new confederacy. Eventually four more states joined the seven. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

            The newly elected president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, inaugurated, or sworn into office on March 4, 1861, did not approve of the secession of the eleven Southern states. However, he hoped to resolve the national conflict peacefully.  Southern troops began seizing Union forts, Fort Sumter, South Carolina being among them. Robert Anderson, its commander, refused to give it up. As a result, the Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina; they captured the fort on April 14. Edmund Ruffin, a former Virginia planter, who had just recently relocated to South Carolina, happened to be among those who fired the first shots of the war.

            Angered by such hostility, Abraham Lincoln made it clear that he would now force the seceded states back into the Union. The struggle to reclaim the eleven southern states became known as the Civil War, or the War Between the States.  Virginia took the brunt of much of the war. Deadly destruction took place on both sides.  Families split apart, brother fought against brother, thousands of people died (almost 623,000 by some estimates, counting battle deaths, the mortally wounded, and other deaths).  Women, children, and old people foraged for themselves.  Thousands of homeless and uneducated slaves roamed the land, especially in the South.

 

Secession of Virginia

 

            When Virginia seceded from the Union, the capital of the Confederate States of America moved to Richmond, Virginia, and a new state sprang from the beginning conflict. The state of Virginia split in two. Many residents of the western counties of Virginia did not wish to secede along with the rest of the state. That section of Virginia asked to be admitted into the Union, the United States of America, as the state of West Virginia. The 35th state of the Union became official on June 20, 1863.

 

First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run

 

            On July 21, 1861, the parade of destructive and deadly battles began with the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run. The Civil War sprang forth as a serious undertaking when Union forces led by General Irvin McDowell attacked Confederate troops stationed at Manassas Junction, Virginia. McDowell. s Union forces entered Virginia in the hope of taking possession of eastern Virginia and Richmond. The Union believed that the loss of Richmond would quickly crush the new Confederate government. With inexperienced and inadequately trained troops on both sides, the battle ended in a victory for the South when Confederate reinforcements arrived. The Union forces made a hasty retreat toward Washington, D.C. Suddenly made aware of the threat of war and the Union army. s need for organization and training, Lincoln replaced McDowell with General George B. McClellan. 

 

Battle of the . U.S.S. Monitor. and the . C.S.S. Virginia.

 

            President Lincoln, in an attempt to cripple the Confederacy, blockaded each Southern port. He knew that such a blockade would keep the Confederates from getting supplies from the outside. Because the North had such a great naval advantage, Southern engineers converted a captured Union frigate, the U.S.S. Merrimack, into an ironclad vessel. They covered it with iron plates four inches thick and re-christened it the C.S.S. Virginia.  The Union navy, not to be outdone, created such a formidable vessel, too. They called their ship the U.S.S. Monitor. The two ironclads met in battle on March 9, 1862, at Hampton Roads, Virginia, a key Southern port blockaded by the Union navy. No serious damage occurred to either ship during the battle but the C.S.S. Virginia later experienced engine trouble and had to be destroyed by its own crew. Still later, the U.S.S. Monitor sank during a storm off the coast of North Carolina.

 

Results of the Blockades. Inflation! Substitutions!

 

            The blockade of Southern ports by the North grew tighter, resulting in many hardships for the South. As the war progressed, inflation went wild. A barrel of flour, for example, costing about $6.00 at the beginning of the war, could cost as much as $1,000.00 in some parts of the South near the end.  Since very few people had the money to buy such expensive goods, they either went without or used substitutes.

            As clothing, food, shelter, medicines, and numerous other supplies became scarce, or nonexistent, Southerners learned how to use a variety of items in their place. Historians relate how rats, frogs, snails, crows, snakes, earthworms, cats, and dogs all acted as alternate food sources.  With no leather for shoes, people used old felt hats, scraps of carpet, and home-tanned hides from wild animals, as well as cows and dogs, for the upper part of the shoe. They made soles from wood or any scraps of leather they might find.

            They relearned how to make candles and spin their own thread. They wore clothing made from draperies, curtains, sheets, pillowcases, mattress covers, and carpet. When clothing became too worn, it was ripped apart and re-sewn. The tail became the top. The outside became the inside. Worn out skirts became men. s shirts. Worn out shirts became children. s garments.

            Dried and ground okra seeds, yams, carrots, peanuts, acorns, and chicory all acted as substitutes for coffee. Honey replaced sugar; molasses and dried figs replaced honey. Rice replaced flour. Sunflower seed oil replaced butter. Wood ashes and a wild plant called . coltsfoot. replaced salt.

            Medicines, because they were in such short supply, were passed through the lines from the Northern doctors to the Southern doctors after a battle.  Many wild plants were used for medicinal purposes. Dogwood berries, willow and poplar bark replaced quinine for fever, pain, and malaria. Blackberry root, charcoal, wild lettuce, peach leaf tea, rhubarb, and persimmons

were used to doctor diarrhea and dysentery. Since opium and morphine, used to dull pain, were so scarce in the South, women grew poppies to make a crude opium. Laxatives were made from caster oil, butternuts, peaches, and May apples. A mixture of elder bark, water, lard, sweet gum resin, olive oil, and sulfur flour helped relieve itching, as did poke root.

 

Prison Camps

 

            As the war raged on, both the North and the South built prison camps to house captured soldiers. Deplorable conditions existed within all prison camps, but two of the worst included the Elmira prison camp built at Elmira, New York, for captured Confederate soldiers and the Andersonville prison camp built at Andersonville, Georgia, for captured Union soldiers. Men were forced to sleep in tents, shacks, or out in the open.  Their clothes in tatters, or more often than not, wearing nothing at all, they lived on scant rations of watery soup, stale bread, rats, and mice. Due to the lack of sanitary conditions in the camps, dysentery and chronic diarrhea raged out of control. Over 56,000 men died from starvation, diseases, or untreated wounds. Andersonville, designed to house 10,000 prisoners, held over 32,000 captured Union soldiers by the end of the war. Elmira became excessively overcrowded as well.

 

Women

 

            Some women were drawn into the war effort. They left their homes and families to work as nurses on the battlefield. Dorothea Dix, a schoolteacher from Maine, at the age of 60, was appointed Superintendent of United States Army Nurses.  Clara Barton gave up her clerical duties with the Patent Office in Washington, D.C., bought her own supplies, and worked in the field as a Civil War nurse without associating herself with any organization. Later, she would help establish the American Red Cross, an organization that still gives aide and assistance to people and countries in crisis. Abolitionist Sojourner Truth worked in Northern hospitals during the war, and Harriet Tubman labored as both a nurse and a spy for the Union army. Belle Boyd, who had become a Confederate spy at the age of seventeen, managed to smuggle so much information to Confederate General Thomas J. . Stonewall. Jackson that he commissioned her an honorary captain and aide-de-camp.  Rose O. Neal Greenhow, another Civil War spy who believed the South should be allowed to secede from the Union, sent coded messages about Union activities to Confederate generals throughout the South. She spied so successfully that Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, credited her with winning the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run). Imprisoned, she continued to send secretly coded messages, hidden in odd places, such as the inside of a woman. s bun of hair, to the Confederacy. Sent South after her second release from prison, President Jefferson Davis welcomed her. Never allowed to return to the North again, Rose O. Neal Greenhow died trying to avoid the federal naval blockade when her lifeboat overturned in stormy seas off Wilmington, North Carolina, October 1, 1864.

 

Camp Life

 

Life for the ordinary soldier in a Civil War camp may have appeared exciting, but it became quite boring, especially during the long winter months. They marched and fought mostly during the summer months, and lazed about during cold weather. With not much to do, they wrote letters home, read, attended church services, sang songs, gambled, and played cards. One soldier wrote to his wife complaining that . soldiering is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror.. In preparation for the upcoming battles that would eventually put a stop to their boredom, they practiced drills and exercises on a daily basis.

 

Battle of Shiloh

 

On April 6 and 7, 1862, Confederate soldiers attacked Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee.  Almost defeated, reinforcements arrived for the Union army during the night, and the Confederate troops retreated the next day.  Exhausted from battle, the Union army did not follow. Of the 63,000 Union soldiers who fought in the battle, 13,000 were casualties; and of the 40,000 Confederates who fought, 11,000 were killed, wounded, or missing. As a result of this battle, the Confederates would abandon west Tennessee and retreat to northern Mississippi.

 

Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run

 

            The Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run, fought on August 29- 30, 1862, paved the way for Lee. s first invasion of the North at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Confederate forces, under the command of General Robert E. Lee, with the help of General Thomas J. . Stonewall. Jackson and General James Longstreet, won for a second time.

 

Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg

 

            On September 17, 1862, Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee met General George B. McClellan. s Army of the Potomac at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The battle would become known as Antietam. As the first Confederate invasion of the North, the battle proved to be the single bloodiest day of the war. With no clear victory, 2,010 Union soldiers died and 9,416 were wounded; 2,700 Confederate soldiers were killed and 9,024 were wounded. General Lee returned to Virginia. At this time, President Lincoln took the opportunity to announce plans for the issuance of his Emancipation Proclamation.

 

Battle of Fredericksburg

 

            Union General Ambrose Burnside launched an ineffectual attack against the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia in December of 1862. He hoped to enter and take the city by way of Fredericksburg, a small town located on the banks of the Rappahannock River fifty miles to the north. Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee protected the town of Fredericksburg from a group of small hills just outside the town limits. The battle, fought on December 13, ended with the loss of 13,000 Union forces and 5,000 casualties for the Confederates. Confederate sharpshooters fired on the attacking Union army from empty buildings along the city. s riverfront as they tried to cross the Rappahannock River on pontoon bridges, temporary platforms built from rafts.  Confederates also fired on the attacking Union army from a sunken road protected by a stone wall. Won with relative ease, General Lee. s victory at Fredericksburg increased the morale of the Confederacy and led to a second invasion of the North the following summer at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

 

Emancipation Proclamation

 

            President Abraham Lincoln, aware of the public. s growing support of abolition, the abolishment of slavery, issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This document declared that all slaves in areas still in rebellion were, in the eyes of the federal government, the Union, free.

 

Battle of Chancellorsville

 

            Fought from May 1- 4, 1863, and won by the Confederates under the leadership of Lee, Jackson, and J.E.B. Stuart (a Virginian and one of the South. s best cavalry officers), the Battle of Chancellorsville, fought near Chancellorsville, Virginia against General Joseph Hooker. s Army of the Potomac, not only produced many casualties but it sounded the death knell for General Thomas J. . Stonewall. Jackson. Having ridden out to view the position of the enemy and returning to his lines after nightfall, some of Jackson. s own men mistook his party for Union soldiers and fired upon them in the dark. Wounding General Jackson severely, he died on Sunday, May 10, 1863. General J.E.B. Stuart, mortally wounded a year later at the battle of Yellow Tavern, a few miles north of Richmond, died on May 11, 1864.

 

Battles for Vicksburg

 

            In an effort to gain control of the Mississippi River, General Ulysses S. Grant began a campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortified city, on the banks of the river, considered essential to the Union. s plans. The campaign began on May 1, 1863, and lasted nine weeks. The campaign finally ended in July of 1863 with the surrender of the city and 30,000 men. This Union victory split the Confederacy, separating the South from its military forces and supplies in the West. The Union army took control of the Mississippi River.

 

Battle of Gettysburg

 

            The second Confederate invasion of the North, the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, along with the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi, might be considered the crucial turning points leading up to the collapse of the Confederacy two years later. The battle began on July 1, 1863, and ended on July 3. After three days of bloody fighting, the Army of Northern Virginia withdrew to Virginia and would never attempt to invade the North again. The Union army lost 23,049 men with 3,155 killed, 14,529 wounded, and 5,365 missing. The Confederates lost 28,063 men with 3,903 killed, 18,735 wounded and 5,425 unwounded men taken as prisoners.  Four months later, President Abraham Lincoln visited the battlefield to dedicate the national cemetery.  He gazed across the now quiet, but former fields of destruction, and delivered his famous Gettysburg Address.

 

Battle of Chattanooga

 

            On November 23, 24, and 25, 1863, the Union army drove the Confederate forces from Chattanooga, Tennessee. This victory set the stage for General William T. Sherman. s Atlanta campaign and his destructive . March to the Sea,. bringing the war closer to an end and insuring President Lincoln. s re-election.

 

Battle of Spotsylvania

 

            In May of 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee fought at a place called Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia.  For fourteen days, the battle raged and General Grant vowed to fight all summer if need be. The Confederates withdrew from Spotsylvania but Generals Grant and Lee met again at North Anna River and Cold Harbor.

 

Battle of Cold Harbor

 

            General Robert E. Lee repulsed General Ulysses S. Grant. s frontal assaults to capture Richmond at Cold Harbor, Virginia in June of 1864. General Grant lost 7,000 men on June 3 and even though General Lee suffered fewer losses. fewer than 1,500 men. he never recovered from Grant. s continual attacks.

 

Siege of Petersburg

 

            The Siege of Petersburg lasted ten months, from June of 1864 to April of 1865 and signaled the end of the war. The Union forces continued to move closer to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. They hoped to force Lee to give up Richmond or run the risk of having his whole army surrounded.  In an effort to break Lee. s lines, Union forces dug a tunnel five hundred eighty-six feet long under the Confederate trenches and mined the tunnel with eight thousand pounds of powder. They blew a hole, or crater, in the Confederate lines, killing and burying men and guns. The battle became known as The Battle of the Crater. Both sides lost thousands of lives.

            Eventually, Petersburg would fall to the Union army. But, before it fell, the situation began to look disastrous for the Southern cause. During the ten-month siege of the city, General Philip Sheridan laid waste to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He burned barns, destroyed crops, killed or turned loose livestock, and broke down fences. Women and children, left homeless, wandered about from place to place searching for shelter.

            To try to relieve the pressure on Lee. s army held at bay around Petersburg, Confederate General Jubal Early led an army within five miles of the Union capital, Washington, D.C.  Driven back, they fled to Virginia.  Atlanta, Georgia fell to General William T. Sherman who, with no opposing forces to stop his army, continued marching across the state of Georgia, destroying everything in his path. His plans included moving north through South Carolina and North Carolina, with the same destructive intent, and joining General Grant at Petersburg.  During the ten-month siege of Petersburg, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president of the United States by those states that remained in the Union.

 

Battle of Atlanta

 

            Atlanta, Georgia, a key Confederate city fell to General William T. Sherman on September 1, 1864. The fall of Atlanta greatly boosted Northern morale and firmly established the Union army. s presence in the heart of the Confederacy, bringing the war closer to an end.

 

 

General William T. Sherman. s . March to the Sea.

 

            General Sherman continued his march across the state of Georgia after taking Atlanta in September of 1864. He reached and captured the coastal city of Savannah, Georgia, on December 22, 1864. In the course of the march, he cut himself loose from his source of supplies, planning for his troops to live off the land. His soldiers cut a path 250 miles in length and 60 miles wide as they moved along. They burned, destroyed, and pillaged everything in their way, including factories, bridges, railroads, public buildings, and homes.

 

Re-Election of Lincoln

 

            Sherman. s victory in Atlanta boosted Lincoln. s popularity in the North and helped him win his second election as president of the Union, the United States of America, by a wide margin. His vice-president was Andrew Johnson from Tennessee.

 

The Fall of Richmond

 

            By the end of 1864, the end for the Confederacy loomed on the horizon. Supplies and men were cut off from Lee. s army by Union forces lying in siege, and naval blockades, which had become so tight that fewer vessels could slip in and out of Southern ports, caused Lee. s army to grow smaller and smaller through hunger, sickness, and lack of supplies.  Virginia, and most of the South, had been cut off from regions west of the Mississippi River by the capture of New Orleans and Vicksburg. 

            On March 25, 1865, General Lee attacked General Grant. s forces near Petersburg but failed to break the siege. General Grant crumpled Lee. s right flank at Five Forks on April 1. On April 2, 1865, General Lee notified Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, that Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, must be abandoned because the Confederate lines at Petersburg had been broken. He knew that when Petersburg fell, Richmond would fall too. President Davis and his cabinet, along with other government officials, fled to Danville, Virginia. On April 2, Lee evacuated Petersburg and headed west hoping to link up with General Joseph E. Johnston. s Confederate forces fleeing west through North Carolina.  General William T. Sherman was pursuing Johnston. During the evacuation, much of Richmond lay in ruin, destroyed by the departing Confederate government officials. Fires raged along the waterfront and shelled-out buildings stood as blackened ghostly reminders of a once beautiful city. With the fall of Richmond came the fall of the Confederacy.

 

Lee. s Retreat

 

            On April 2, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, after abandoning Petersburg, headed west through the rolling hills, wooded terrain, and farm country of Virginia. s Piedmont.  Earlier, at Sutherland Station, his hungry, sick, and tired army, in search of food and supplies, fought for the doomed South Side Railroad. The four columns, remnants of Lee. s once mighty Army of Northern Virginia, met at Amelia Court House on April 4th and 5th.  At Jetersville, on April 5, Union cavalry and infantry cut off Lee. s planned retreat route to the south, and so he and his fleeing Confederate army veered west. They passed through Deatonville on April 6 and on to Rice. s Depot where Lee stopped and established temporary headquarters. At Sailor. s Creek, Union forces attacked Lee. s rear guard capturing nearly one-fifth of the weakened Confederate army. On April 7, Lee headed toward Farmville where he hoped to feed his starving men but the rapidly pursuing Union cavalry disturbed the issuance of rations.

            Lee crossed to the north side of the Appomattox River, burning the bridges behind him, hoping to find an unobstructed route west. Fighting delayed Lee. s march west at Cumberland Church on April 7. Near Cumberland Church, Lee received a message from Grant asking him to surrender. On April 8, Grant spent a restless night in an abandoned house called . Clifton. where he received Lee. s message asking for a meeting. All of Lee. s exhausted army passed through the tiny village of New Store on April 8 in a desperate flight to Appomattox Station where they hoped to find food and supplies awaiting them at the train depot.

 

Lee. s Surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia

 

            On April 8, 1865, the remnants of General Robert E. Lee. s army, estimated at 30,000, weary, hungry, exhausted, men, camped near the tiny village of Appomattox Court House. Surrounded by General Ulysses S. Grant. s Union forces, escape seemed unlikely. On April 9, 1865, at one thirty, on a sunny Palm Sunday afternoon, Lee met Grant in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean house at Appomattox Court House, Virginia and surrendered. The surrender terms allowed the Confederate soldiers to return to their homes after surrendering their artillery, stacking their arms, and agreeing not to take up arms against the United States government. The officers were allowed to keep their side arms, private horses, and personal baggage. Lee asked that his cavalrymen and artillerists be allowed to keep their horses and mules, which were privately owned. Grant agreed to the request knowing that they would need them for the spring plowing and planting when they returned to their farms. General Grant then asked his military secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Ely Parker, a Seneca Indian and former chief of the Iroquois Nation, to recopy his terms in final form. Finally, Grant offered to feed Lee. s starving men; Lee accepted. Holding a formal surrender ceremony on April 12, 1865, the Confederate soldiers laid down their arms. On April 26, 1865, near Durham, North Carolina, General Joseph E. Johnston, who had fought at the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run, surrendered his army to General William T. Sherman. The terms of surrender were the same as General Grant had given to General Lee. General Johnston. s surrender virtually closed the war.

 

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

 

            Now, with the Civil War almost over, a quiet, sad, and restless peace returned to the land. But, it would take many years before reunification could begin between the now beaten Confederacy and the victorious Union. and for both sides to become known as one country again, The United States of America. President Lincoln had hoped to bring about reunification quickly and smoothly, trusting that both sides could work together. But, his plans for reconstruction were cut short. Assassinated at Ford. s Theater in Washington, D.C. by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, just five days after General Lee. s surrender at Appomattox Court House, President Lincoln would not witness the next twelve years of turbulence known as the Reconstruction, the period of chaotic readjustment following the Civil War.

 

Reconstruction

 

            The Reconstruction era lasted from about 1865 to around 1877. During those uneasy years there were many problems to be solved. redefining the status of freed slaves, reincorporating the Southern states back into the Union, and reestablishing the economy and social structure of the South.

            Northerners, called carpetbaggers, and frowned upon by Southerners, went to the South during Reconstruction. Elected to political office they made a lot of money under the guise of helping to rebuild but they did so at the expense of many disheartened Southerners. On the other hand, scalawags, white Southerners who joined the hated Radical Republicans, wanted to punish the South for seceding from the Union. Their Southern neighbors despised them even more. Scalawags, according to some, took advantage of their own disorganized South to make money from the hardships of others.

            Reconstruction brought about many good changes for the South. The Black Codes granted freed slaves the right to marry, to own property, to sue and be sued, and to make contracts but they could not bear arms, serve as jurors, or hold mass meetings. The Freedmen. s Bureau, an agency set up by the federal government, helped freed slaves make the transition from slavery to freedom. It provided relief to blacks and whites in war-stricken areas, supported black education, regulated black labor, and sought justice in cases involving blacks. Three constitutional amendments were passed: the Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, outlawed slavery in the United States; the Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, guaranteed freed slaves the status of full citizens of the United States; and, the Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, guaranteed freed male slaves the right to vote.

            Reconstruction, the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War, did unite the North and the South eventually, and it did end slavery, but Reconstruction failed to bind the races together and as a result the rise of terrorist groups flourished throughout the South. The Ku Klux Klan, organized in 1866, opposed the Reconstruction policies of the Radical Republicans.  Klan members donned white robes and carried flaming crosses.  They rode across the countryside under the cover of darkness terrorizing blacks and black supporters.

            Sadly, as Reconstruction efforts drew to a close, the Jim Crow laws, statutes passed by the legislatures of the Southern states, created a racial caste system in the American South. In direct defiance of post-Civil War Reconstruction efforts, the laws declared whites superior to blacks. Therefore, blacks and whites should be segregated, or separated. By law, the races could not attend schools together, eat in the same restaurants, sit together in the same theater, ride the same public transportation, visit the same parks, or even drink from the same water fountain, or use the same bathroom. It took many years. into the 1950s and 1960s. before such unfair laws were challenged and changed, so that peace and reunification could begin.

 

Artists and Musicians

 

            The Civil War, greatest of American tragedies, became one of the first wars recorded through art and music. It is through the arts that we still have some of our greatest images of the War Between the States. One of the most influential American painters during that time, Winslow Homer, first worked as a pictorial reporter of the Civil War for Harper. s Weekly magazine. His oil painting, . Prisoners from the Front,. still hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Mathew Brady, through the new art of daguerreotype photography, went to war with his primitive cameras. He followed the Army of the Potomac into battle, taking pictures at numerous battlefields, including Manassas (Bull Run), Antietam, and Gettysburg. Alfred R. Waud, an artist who traveled with the Army of the Potomac, did his drawings on the battlefield as the fighting raged around him. Conrad Wise Chapman, an enlistee in the Confederate army, is best known as the principal painter of the Confederacy. In 1863 and 1864 he was assigned to paint the forts and batteries at Charleston, South Carolina.  Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist, illustrated Civil War scenes for Harper. s Weekly magazine.  It is through Thomas Nast. s political cartoons that we have our present day image of Santa Claus wearing a red suit, an elephant representing the Republican party, and a donkey depicting the Democratic party.

            Music played an important role in the recording of the Civil War, too. Julia Ward Howe, while visiting military camps near Washington, D.C., wrote words to . The Battle Hymn of the Republic.. It later became the marching song for the Union forces during the war. . All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight. written by John Hill Hewitt; . Dixie. by Daniel Decatur Emmitt; and . Tenting on the Old Camp Ground. by Walter Kittredge were some of the most popular songs inspired by the Civil War.  The music-loving Sweeney Brothers. Joel, Sam, and Richard. of Buckingham and Appomattox Counties, Virginia, traveled throughout the countryside entertaining the Confederate troops with their talents as violinists and banjoists. Joel Sweeney, a self-taught musician and entertainer, is credited with popularizing the five-string banjo. Its birthplace was Buckingham County, in central Virginia, not far from the village of Appomattox Court House. One of his homemade five-string banjos still exists. Discovered at Appomattox Court House about 1890, it is currently preserved in the Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, California.  Joel Walker Sweeney died in 1860. 


Other Nonfiction Books With Civil War Themes

 

Appomattox Court House: Handbook 109. (1980). Washington, D. C.: Division of Publications,         National Park Service.

 

Boatner, III, M. M. (1988). The Civil War Dictionary. New York: Random House.   

 

Catton, B. (1956). This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War. Garden         City, NY: Doubleday.

 

Catton, B. (Ed.). (1958) The Battle of Gettysburg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

 

Catton, B. (Ed.). (1961). The Golden Book of the Civil War. New York: Golden Press.

 

Commager, H. S. (1950). The Blue and the Grey: The Story of the Civil War as Told by        Participants. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill.

 

Davis, B. (1960). The Civil War: Strange and Fascinating Facts. New York: Wing Books.

 

Kent, Z. (1987). The Story of the Surrender at Appomattox. Chicago: Children. s Press.

 

Long, E. B. (1971). The Civil War Day by Day. New York: DaCapo Press.

 

Massey, M. E. (1966). Women in the Civil War. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

 

McPherson, J. M. (1988). Battle Cry of Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Robertson, Jr., J. I. (1996). Civil War!  America Becomes One Nation.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

 

Stern, P. V. D. (1959). Secret Missions of the Civil War. New York: Wing Books.

 

Trudeau, N. A. (1998). Like Men of War. New York: Little, Brown and Company. 

 

Wiley, B.I. (1999). The Life of Billy Yank. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lesson 4

 

. Time Line of Key Civil War Events.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately one class period

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); United States History to 1877 (5.9)

 

General Objectives: After a review of the major events taking place before, during, and after the Civil War, and the development of a sample time line, students will create their own time lines documenting the most significant events of the Civil War and make time line illustrations.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp. 14-23); white, unlined paper, rulers; . masking tape time line. on the classroom floor; drawing and coloring materials.

 

NOTE: A Civil War time line may be obtained through the following internet address: http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/tl1861.html.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that they have been reading for factual information about the Civil War. Now they are going to create a time line of key Civil War events using information so that they can see the progression of the war over a four-year period. They will make illustrations of key events along the time line.

 

Procedure: Discuss the purpose of a time line and how it is read. Create a sample time line on the board using important personal dates offered by members of the class. Point out the . masking tape time line. on the floor. Ask the students to reread the Civil War summaries, taking notes on key events. Next, have the class decide which event should come first, second, third, and so on. Then have individual students stand at the correct spot on the . masking tape time line. which represents that particular event. Clear up any misinformation through whole class discussion and relocation of students, if necessary. After students are in place, have each one give a brief oral review of the information relevant to their particular place on the time line. Have students create their own time lines on paper to include all of the dates represented by the students on the . masking tape time line.. Finally, have the students pick, or you assign, key events along the time line. Place the date and a short title at the bottom of a blank sheet of paper and have the students illustrate the event. Then place the pictures sequentially, end to end, along a wall or on a bulletin board for a visual display of key Civil War events.

 

NOTE: See p. 4, Activities for Integrating Teaching/Learning Package-Social Studies  - for a completed time line of key Civil War events.

 

Closure: Through discussion summarize the major points of this particular lesson, making sure the students understand the sequential order in which key Civil War events took place.

 

Evaluation: Completed time lines and drawings if used as an art lesson. Also, observe students as they form the . masking tape time line.. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they create their own time lines and complete their drawings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson 5

Table of Contents

 

. Key Events Leading Up to the Secession of the Eleven Southern States.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4); United States History to 1877 (5.7, 5.9, 5.10)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of major events leading up to the secession of eleven Southern states from the Union prior to the beginning of the war, the students will research such events, organize information, write reports, and make oral presentations. They will name the eleven Southern states that seceded from the Union, pointing them out on a map of the United States as well as the state of West Virginia, which entered the Union in 1863.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp.14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.; map of the United States

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. arrangements with the librarian.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that they are going to research some major events that took place before the Civil War actually began. Angering many people in the South, such events, along with other reasons, caused representatives from eleven Southern states to break away from the Union, the Northern states, and attempt to create their own country called the Confederate States of America. Also, on a map of the United States, they will identify and locate the eleven Southern states that seceded from the Union, as well as the state of West Virginia.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one of the following topics: Nat Turner. s Rebellion; publication of Uncle Tom. s Cabin; Underground Railroad; John Brown. s Raid on Harper. s Ferry; Fugitive Slave Laws; Compromise of 1820; Compromise of 1850; Kansas-Nebraska Act; the Dred Scott Decision; election of Abraham Lincoln; secession of the Southern states; secession of Virginia; and West Virginia becomes a state. Tell each group that they are to collect information, organize the information, write a report, and make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information. Students ask questions of the presenters and take notes on the information given.

 

NOTE: If students have not participated in research before, it may be necessary to complete a collaborative research topic, or some other research demonstration, as an example. A map of The Underground Railroad may be purchased by writing to Eastern National (see p. 58 for address) or Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (p. 58).

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart, using a large sheet of paper, with each major event as a heading. Have the students summarize key points; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading. Help them work through the important facts. The chart might also be designed as a handout. Then, the students, either in groups or individually, fill in as much information as they can remember about each major event. Finally, have the students name the eleven Southern states which seceded from the Union pointing them out on a map of the United States, as well as the state of West Virginia which entered the Union in 1863.

 

Evaluation: Completed reports. and charts, if designed as a handout. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they complete their research projects.

 

Lesson 6

 

. Key Events Taking Place During the Civil War.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4); United States History to 1877 (5.7, 5.10)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of major events taking place during the Civil War, students will research such events, organize the information, write reports, and make oral presentations. They will also point out Lee. s retreat route on a map of the state of Virginia.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp.14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.; map of the state of Virginia

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. arrangements with the librarian.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that they will research some major events that took place during the Civil War. The outcomes of these events not only shaped the development of Virginia. s history, but altered the historical and political development of the United States as well. They will also point out Lee. s retreat route on a map of the state of Virginia.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one of the following events: Battle of the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia; Sherman. s . March to the Sea;. Lincoln. s Gettysburg Address; Emancipation Proclamation; Abraham Lincoln. s re-election; the fall of Richmond; Lee. s retreat; or Lee. s surrender. Tell each group that they are to collect information about their topic(s), organize the information, write a report, and then make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information to the class. Display all reports and materials.

 

NOTE: These events, relatively well known, should be easily found in any encyclopedia or other resource book. A map of Lee. s retreat route may be received by writing to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (see p. 58 for address). You may also access the following Internet address: http://www.civilwar-va.com/ for a map of Lee. s retreat route.

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart, using a large sheet of paper, with each major event as a heading. Have the students summarize each event in short phrases; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading. Help them work through the important facts. The chart might also be designed as a handout. Then, the students, either in groups or individually, fill in as much information as they can remember about each event. Finally, have them trace Lee. s retreat route on a map of the state of Virginia.

 

Evaluation: Completed reports. and charts, if designed as a handout. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they complete their research projects and trace Lee. s retreat route.

Lesson 7

Table of Contents

 

. Key Events Taking Place After the Civil War.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4); United States History to 1877 (5.7, 5.10)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of major events taking place after the Civil War, students will research such events, organize the information, write reports, and make oral presentations.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp.14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.; copy of the Constitution of the United States, especially the Reconstruction

amendments to the Constitution which may be found in any major almanac.

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. arrangements with the librarian.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell students that they will research some major events that took place after the Civil War ended. The outcomes of these events not only shaped the development of Virginia. s history, but altered the historical and political development of the United States, as well.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one of the following events: assassination of President Lincoln; Reconstruction; 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments; Jim Crow laws; Ku Klux Klan; carpetbaggers; scalawags; Radical Republicans; Freedmen. s Bureau; or the Black Codes. Tell each group that they are to collect information about their topic(s), organize the information, write a report, and then make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information to the class. Display all reports and materials.

 

NOTE: These events, relatively well known, should be easily found in any encyclopedia or other resource book.

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart, using a large sheet of paper, with each major event as a heading. Have the students summarize each event in short phrases; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading. Help them work through the important facts. The chart might also be designed as a handout. Then, the students, either in groups or individually, fill in as much information as they can remember about each event.

 

Evaluation: Completed reports. and charts, if designed as a handout. Observe and record either mentally of narratively, students as they complete their research projects.

Lesson 8

 

. Key Civil War Figures.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4); United States History to 1877 (5.7, 5.10)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of the role of key figures associated with the Civil War, students will research such figures, organize the information, write reports, and make oral presentations.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp. 14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. arrangements with the librarian.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that many people, both men and women, acted as key figures in the Civil War. Some became involved before the war began; others took active parts while the war raged on for four long years; yet, others came to the forefront as the war ended. They are going to research some of these key figures. Such individuals are important in the study of Virginia for many of their ideas shaped the development of Virginia. s history. The consequences of many of their often rebellious actions altered the historical and political development of the United States.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one of the following people: John C. Calhoun; Daniel Webster; Robert Anderson; Frederick Douglass; Belle Boyd; Sojourner Truth; Rose O. Neal Greenhow; Harriet Tubman; Colonel Ely Parker; Clara Barton; Dorthea Dix; William Lloyd Garrison; or John Wilkes Booth. Tell each group that they are to collect information about their key figure(s), organize the information, write a report, and then make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information to the class and create an outline on the board. Students ask questions of the presenters and take notes on the information given. Display all reports and materials.

 

NOTE: Give students a time limit. The people are relatively well known, and information should be easily found in any encyclopedia or other resource book. Encourage the students to prepare an outline. This will help with their oral reports.

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart, using a large sheet of paper, with each key figure as a heading. Have the students summarize the accomplishments of each individual; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading. Help them work through the important facts. The chart might also be designed as a handout. Then, the students, either in groups or individually, fill in as much information as they can remember about each individual.

 

Evaluation: Completed reports. and charts, if designed as a handout. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they complete their research projects.

 

Lesson 9

Table of Contents

 

. Major Leaders of the Civil War.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4); United States History to 1877 (5.7)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of the role of major leaders associated with the Civil War, students will research such leaders, organize the information, write reports, and make oral presentations.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp. 14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. arrangements with the librarian.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that many great men acted as major leaders in the Civil War. Some were Northerners; some were Southerners; many were Virginians. All were men because women were not allowed to act as military leaders or hold political office in those days. They are going to research some of these major leaders. Such individuals are important in the study of Virginia and United States history, for many of their ideas and the consequences of many of their actions as generals and presidents altered the historical and political development of both Virginia and the United States.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one, or two, of the following generals or presidents: President Abraham Lincoln; General Thomas J. . Stonewall. Jackson; General George B. McClellan; General Irvin McDowell; General Robert E. Lee; General Ulysses S. Grant; General James Longstreet; General Joseph Hooker; General William T. Sherman; General J.E.B. Stuart; General Philip Sheridan; General Jubal Early; General Joseph E. Johnston; or President Jefferson Davis. Tell each group that they are to collect information about their individual(s), organize the information, write a report, and make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information to the class and create an outline on the board. Students ask questions of the presenters and take notes on the information given. Display all reports and materials.

 

NOTE: Give students a time limit. These military leaders and presidents are relatively well known and information should be easily found in any encyclopedia or other research book. Encourage the students to prepare an outline. This will help with their oral reports.

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart, using a large sheet of paper, with each general or president as a heading. Have the students summarize the roles or accomplishments of each person; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading. Help them work through the important facts. The chart might also be designed as a handout. Then, the students, either in groups or individually, fill in as much information as they can remember about each individual.

 

Evaluation: Completed reports. and charts, if designed as a handout. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they complete their research projects.

Lesson 10

 

. Some Major Battles of the Civil War.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4, 4.7); United State History to 1877 (5.7, 5.9)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of the many destructive battles taking place during the Civil War, many on Virginia soil, students will research such battles, organize the information, write reports, and make oral presentations.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp.14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.. especially those containing pictures of battlefield death and destruction. See Appendix for a few pictures and p. 55 for books containing destructive battlefield scenes.

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. agreements with the librarian. Also, this lesson will become much more effective if children have access to books showing the horrors of battle. Although I have included a few pictures (see Appendix), numerous books are available and may be checked out of any public or college library through prior planning.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that many destructive battles took place during the Civil War. Virginia lay in the path of much deadly ruin. Thousands of people died, were taken prisoner, or were mortally wounded. Deep craters, gouged out of the earth from exploding shells, mounds of earth forming winding trenches across the fields and through the woods, and the unmarked graves of fallen soldiers, continue to exist in numerous Civil War battlefields preserved across the land. Show them pictures of Civil War death and destruction. Tell the students that they are going to research some of those deadly, destructive battles.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one of the following major battles: Fort Sumter, South Carolina; First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run; Battle of Chattanooga; Battle of Shiloh; Battle of Spotsylvania Court House; Battle of Cold Harbor; Battle of Gettysburg; Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run; Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg; Battle of Fredericksburg; Siege of Petersburg; Battle of Chancellorsville; Battle of Atlanta; or Battles for Vicksburg. Tell each group that they are to collect information about their particular battle(s), organize the information, write a report, and then make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information to the class. Students ask questions of the presenters and take notes on the information given. Display all reports and materials.

 

NOTE: Many of these battles are well known; however, they may not be readily found in encyclopedias. Extra outside resources are imperative. Use the Civil War summary (pp.14-23).

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart, using a large sheet of paper, with each battle as a heading. Have the students summarize the information concerning each battle; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading.

 

Evaluation: Completed reports and chart. Observe and record either mentally of narratively, students as they complete their research projects.

 

 

 

Lesson 11

Table of Contents

 

. The Effects of War and Destruction on the Earth. s Fragile Ecosystem.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic (4.1); Living Systems (4.5); Resources (4.8); Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change (5.7); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.7); United States History to 1877 (5.9)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of how human activity, especially the destructive results of battles, often scars the Earth. s fragile ecosystem seemingly beyond repair, students will discover that the Earth gradually replenishes itself through a natural process called . secondary succession. and be able to describe this process through drawings.

 

Materials: Copies of . Secondary Succession. lesson (p. 33); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.. especially those containing pictures of battlefield destruction; large sheets of drawing paper; crayons or markers. See Appendix for a few pictures and p. 55 for other books containing destructive battlefield scenes.

 

NOTE: This lesson will be much more effective if children have access to books showing the scars left by major battles. holes left by exploding shells, torn, splintered, and denuded trees, mounded earth, and deep trenches. Although I have included a few pictures (see Appendix), numerous books are available and may be checked out of any public or college library through prior planning. See p. 55 for other books containing destructive battlefield scenes.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that many of the destructive battles which took place during the Civil War often scarred the Earth. s fragile ecosystem seemingly beyond repair. Exploding shells gouged out deep craters and exploded the trees and bushes into splinters. Soldiers dug deep trenches and mounded the earth into small hills for protection. Have them view pictures of Civil War battlefields where the land has been stripped of vegetation, the hillsides are jagged heaps of brown dirt, and ugly trenches and gullies form spidery paths across the landscape.

 

Procedure: How do you think the earth. s fragile ecosystem replenishes itself after such destruction? What happens to the animals? How does the vegetation return? After some discussion, introduce the term . secondary succession. to the class, and ask them to speculate on its meaning. Pass out copies of the . Secondary Succession. lesson (p. 33), and have the students read about this natural process. Discuss.

 

Closure: Help the students recall the six steps involved in the process of . secondary succession,. and place them on the board. Help them divide a sheet of drawing paper into six parts either by folding or measuring. Make sketches of this natural process by following the steps as described in the . Secondary Succession. lesson and listed on the board.

 

Evaluation: Completed drawings and discussion responses. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they respond to this lesson on the effects of war and destruction on the Earth. s ecosystem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Effects of War and Destruction on the Earth. s Fragile Ecosystem

 

Secondary Succession: The Earth. s Natural Healing Process

 

            Human activity often scars the Earth. s fragile ecosystem seemingly beyond repair. Plants are destroyed, the soil becomes poor and rearranged, and animals flee the area. Of course, before the Civil War, much of the eastern United States had been cleared of trees for farming purposes. But during the war the effects of human activity on the land in many areas became destructive. Exploding shells gouged out gaping craters and blew the trees and bushes into splinters. Soldiers dug deep trenches and mounded the earth into small hills for protection. The shelling stripped the land of its vegetation, the hillsides became jagged heaps of brown dirt, and ugly trenches and gullies formed spidery paths across the landscape. When the war ended, many soldiers returned home to farm, reclaiming the destroyed land for agricultural purposes; however, much of the land remained abandoned after the Civil War. Eventually, the Earth began to heal and replenish itself through a natural process called secondary succession.

            Secondary succession is slow and takes a series of steps. First, weeds and crabgrass, low growing plants that have lain dormant and undisturbed for years, begin to sprout. Then, over the next three or four years, broomsedge, a perennial bunch grass, takes over. Low growing briars start to mingle with the grasses. Crickets, grasshoppers, mice, and spiders, as well as seed-eating birds, flourish. Third, pine seedlings thrive and, in high limestone areas, cedar trees start to grow. Rabbits and other small animals appear. Fourth, within five or ten years, the pine seedlings begin to shade the broomsedge. It begins to die and hardwoods, such as oak and ash, begin to grow up through the pines. Fifth, the area gradually becomes shady woodland where shade-tolerant trees and shrubs such as dogwoods, redbuds, and sourwood trees begin to flourish. Squirrels, skunks, and other small animals return. Finally, after about thirty years, the dominant trees, those that can replace themselves in their own shade, continue to grow and the once abandoned area becomes a forest where deer, turkey, and larger birds continue to live with the smaller animals.  This process would be very true for a Virginia deciduous forest.

Lesson 12

Table of Contents

 

. Advances in Technology.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately two or three class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Oral Language (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3); Research (4.9, 5.8); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4); United States History to 1877 (5.7, 5.10)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of the advances being made in technology during the Civil War, students will research some of those advances, organize the information, write reports, and make oral presentations.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp. 14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.

 

NOTE: Make prior . research. arrangements with the librarian.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that during the Civil War several advances were made in technology. For example, the battle taking place at Hampton Roads, Virginia, between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia, often called the . Battle of the Ironclads,. was the first time iron ships had been used for warfare. Thaddeus Lowe, a balloonist, scientist, and inventor, acted as a Union spy by using a balloon to carry him over Confederate territory. Also, scientists dabbled in chemistry and medicine, particularly those used for anesthetic purposes such as ether. Advances were being made in communication as well, especially the telegraph. Tell the students that they will research some of these advances in technology.

 

Procedure: Divide the class up into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Assign each group one or two of the following topics: medicine, chemistry, submarine warfare (ironclads), hot air balloons, telegraph, or anesthesia. Tell each group that they are to collect information about their topic(s), organize the information, write a report, and then make an oral presentation before the class. After all research is complete, groups present their information to the class. Display all reports and materials.

 

NOTE: Some of the topics may be difficult to research since they are so broad. You might want to narrow the topics down. For example: for anesthesia, have them research ether; for telegraph, have them research Morse Code; for medicine, have them research opium or morphine; for chemistry, have them research chlorine or cocaine.

 

Closure: Beforehand, create a chart using a large sheet of paper with each topic as a heading. Have the students summarize each topic in short phrases; list the students. responses under each appropriate heading. Help them work through the important facts. The chart might also be designed as a handout. Then, the students, either in groups or individually, fill in as much information as they can remember about each topic

 

Evaluation: Completed reports. and charts, if designed as a handout. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they complete their research projects and give their reports.

Lesson 13

 

. Key Virginia Civil War Battle Sites.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately one class period

 

Standards of Learning: Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.7); United States History to 1877 (5.9); Research (5.8)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware that Virginia lay in the path of many deadly struggles during the Civil War, students will locate key Virginia Civil War sites still preserved in various places across the state.

 

Materials: Copies of Civil War summary (pp. 14-23); other resource books, encyclopedias, and atlases, etc.; several current maps of the state of Virginia for individual or group work; yellow markers or . Stick on Notes..

 

NOTE: It is imperative that you have current maps of the state of Virginia for this lesson. They may be obtained free by visiting the office of any Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that many destructive battles took place during the Civil War, and Virginia lay in the path of much deadly ruin. Numerous Civil War sites have been preserved across the state. They will locate some of the key Civil War sites on a state map of Virginia.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Pass out state maps of Virginia. Ask the students to locate the following key Civil War sites or places: Manassas, the Shenandoah Valley (You will need to help students with this one since it is not a particular place or town, but a large valley. Often called . The Great Valley of Virginia,. it stretches from . near. Front Royal south to . near. Roanoke.), Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania Court House, Frederickburg, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Richmond, or Appomattox Court House. Mark each one with a yellow marker, or use . Stick on Notes.. After discussion, label, display, and keep for further use.

 

NOTE: Many of these towns no longer exist, having merged into larger towns, changed their names, or have been preserved as Civil War battlefields. They are virtually impossible to find on less detailed maps of the United States or in a collection of maps such as the Rand McNally Road Atlas. Cold Harbor was located slightly southeast of Mechanicsville, Virginia on Rt. 156.

 

Closure: Tape a state map of Virginia to the chalkboard, or use a wall map of Virginia if you have one, and ask individual students or group spokespersons to locate and mark Civil War sites using . Stick on Notes.. Save the wall map; add other information from future lessons.

 

Evaluation: Completed wall map and individual or group maps, if designed as such. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they locate each Civil War site. Carefully watching students. reactions helps in gaining a subjective feel for the quality of thinking and enthusiasm taking place among students.

Lesson 14

Table of Contents

 

. Camp Life: Accessing the Internet.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately one class period

 

Standards of Learning: Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.4, 4.7); United States History to 1877 (5.9); Research (4.9, 5.8); Computer Technology (5.2, 5.3)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware that information on the Civil War is available through computer technology, students will access the Internet, search for information on . Camp Life. during the Civil War, and complete a worksheet on the subject.

 

Materials: Worksheet (see p. 37) with Internet address: http://www.cr.nps.gov/csd/gettex/

 

NOTE: Students must enter the address correctly! See p. 56 for other Internet addresses offering more information on the Civil War.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell the students that life in a Civil War camp was not always exciting, especially during the winter when they spent most of their time in camp; they marched during warmer months. One soldier wrote to his wife complaining that . soldiering is 99% boredom and

1% sheer terror.. They will access the Internet through an address, which you will provide, and then complete a worksheet after reading an article posted on the Internet about camp life during the Civil War.

 

NOTE: If students do not have access to computers or the internet, you may wish to gather the information through prior planning or use copies of the Civil War summary (pp. 14-23) which includes a brief description of camp life (p. 18). Eliminating this lesson will not adversely affect the rest of the unit.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Pass out the worksheet with the Internet address: http:///www.cr.nps.gov/csd/gettex/. Work with the students as they access the Internet. Help them enter the address, locate the site, and scroll through the document searching for information. After completing the computer session, generate a discussion centering on daily life in a Civil War camp. Use the worksheet as a guide.

 

NOTE: This address entitled . Camp Life: Civil War Collections from Gettysburg National Military Park. is a pictorial, as well as a narrative account about daily life in a Civil War camp. It is written on an upper elementary reading level and contains numerous pictures. tents, camping gear, officers quarters, uniforms, etc.

 

Closure: Through discussion summarize the major points of this particular lesson making sure that students understand that although soldiering seemed exciting to many, and they did experience much action, they also suffered through excessive boredom as well.

 

Evaluation: Completed worksheets. Observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students as they work on the computer and complete their worksheets. Carefully watching students. reactions helps in gaining a subjective feel for the quality of thinking and enthusiasm taking place among students.


Camp Life: Accessing the Internet

 

 

 

Name: ________________________                                            Date: _________________

 

NET ADDRESS: http://www.cr.nps.gov/csd/gettex/

 

1.       Click on the . Introduction.. Read all information.

 

            What does the phrase . soldiering is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. mean?

 

            _______________________________________________________________

 

            _______________________________________________________________

 

2.       Click on . living in camp. (red) and answer the following questions.

           

            How much baggage was a junior officer allowed? _______________________

 

            How many officers usually slept in a tent? ____________________________

 

3.       Click in the arrows ßà to learn more.

 

4.       Go back. Click on . existing day to day.. Answer the following questions.

 

            What did soldiers do every day? _______________________________________

 

            _________________________________________________________________

 

            What items did they usually receive from home? ___________________________

 

5.       Click on the arrows ßà to learn more.

 

6.       Go back. Click on . battle boredom.. Answer the following questions.

 

            What was the soldier. s most common pastime? ________________________

 

            How did the Civil War soldier . battle boredom?. _________________________

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

7.       Click on each of the following headings written in red and read about how the Civil War soldier battled boredom.

 

            . playing games.                 . taking pictures.            . writing.             . whittling.

 

            . drinking & smoking.          . praying.                       . making music.

 

8.       Click on the arrows ßà and all headings written in red to explore the site on your own.

 

9.       Where is the location of this Civil War camp described through this website?

 

            __________________________________________________________

Lesson 15

 

. Hardtack.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately one or two class periods

 

Standards of Learning: Measurement (4.12, 4.13, 5.11); Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present (4.7); United States History to 1877 (5.9)

 

General Objectives: After being made aware of . hardtack,. a food staple used by soldiers from both the North and the South during the Civil War, the students will make the product from an original Civil War recipe and then use it as an ingredient in another Civil War recipe.

 

Materials: Copies of . hardtack. recipes (p. 39); recipe called . Salt Pork and Hard Bread. (p. 39); cooking utensils; measuring devices. cups, pints, etc.; baking supplies. flour, salt (optional), sugar (optional), water, etc.; and, other ingredients. salt pork, onions, parsley.

 

NOTE: Make prior arrangements for cooking the recipes with the cafeteria staff. The recipes might be sent home as a homework project and the finished product brought to class.

 

Anticipatory Set: Tell students that life was very hard for the Civil War soldier and that he often ate what was called . hardtack.. It was baked in a factory, packed into small square tin containers or boxes, and shipped by train and wagon to the battlefield. The small, thin, square biscuit was made of flour and water and then baked until very dry and hard. If salt and sugar were available these two ingredients were added to the mixture, but often salt and sugar were scarce and so the hard staple had very little taste. Soldiers ate the . hardtack. by soaking it in water and then adding other ingredients to the mixture to make it taste better. If not adequately protected, the small hard biscuit molded or became soggy in damp weather. Often it became infested with small worms called weevils, but soldiers more often than not ate it anyway due to the scarcity of food.

 

Procedure: Divide the class into groups according to class size, cooperative working arrangements, or personal teaching style. Pass out copies of the . hardtack. recipe along with all baking supplies, cooking utensils, and measuring devices. After baking the students. . hardtack,. use the recipe for . Salt Pork and Hard Bread. found on p. 39 for completing the lesson. The recipe is relatively simple and can be completed by groups of students.

 

Closure: Have the students sample the finished recipes. Generate a discussion centered on the uses of . hardtack.. Through discussion summarize the major points of this particular lesson making sure students understand that . hardtack. was a key Civil War staple and that both sides used it during the Civil War.

 

Evaluation: Due to the nature of this assignment, observe and record, either mentally or narratively, students. reactions as they make their recipes and participate in tasting their finished products. Carefully watching students. reactions helps in gaining a subjective feel for the quality of thinking and enthusiasm taking place among students.

 

Recipes

 

 

 

Hardtack

                                   

                                    Make a stiff dough of one part water to 5 or 6 parts flour.

                                    Salt and sugar may be added for taste if you wish.

                                    (Both were scarce so they were rarely used.)

                                    Roll out to about 3/8. thick, cut into 4. X 4. squares.

                                    Pierce through in at least nine places.

                                    Bake 25 . 45 minutes in a moderate oven (350 degrees) until puffy

                                    and slightly browned.

                              Leave the biscuits out to dry for a few days until they are rock hard.

 

 

 

Salt Pork and Hard Bread

 

                              Ingredients: salt pork, hard bread, onions, parsley, pepper, and water

 

                              Soak the hard bread in cold water for one hour; wash pork;

                              drain the water off the hard bread and cut up the pork into thin

                              slices; peel and slice the onions; wash and chop the parsley;

                              pour a little water into the camp kettle; place a layer of slices

                              of pork at bottom of the kettle, with some onions, parsley,

                              and pepper, then a layer of the soaked hard bread on top, then

                              another layer of pork, and so on alternately, until the kettle is

                              nearly full. Cover the whole with water; cook gently over a slow

                              fire for one hour and fifteen minutes; and serve.

 

 

 

Salt Pork and Hard Bread (another version)

 

                              Treat the pork, onions, and parsley, as in the above recipe.

                              Soak the hard bread for two hours, then squeeze it dry; mince

                              up the pork and mix it with the hard bread, onions, parsley, and

                              pepper; then roll it into balls, and place them in a camp kettle

                              with sufficient water to cover, and cook gently over a slow fire

                              for one hour, and serve.

Lesson 16

Table of Contents

 

. Substitutions!.

 

Grades: 4 & 5

 

Time Needed: Approximately one class period

 

S