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Classroom Activities:
Mathematics
Social Studies
Grades:
3 - 8
Objectives:
To teach students that strategies and
tactics are not the only components of winning a battle. Without the right combinations of
supplies battles can be lost.
Materials:
Five
colors of construction paper or poster board (two or three sheets depending on size), one
black felt tip pen, envelopes, pencils, blindfolds, paper and color markers for graphs. |
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Is It Enough?
Background:
The Vicksburg Campaign represented two
different types of military tactics. Both armies needed supplies. The Confederates
stockpiled food and ammunition at Vicksburg in the event of a siege. The Union soldiers
traveled great distances from their supply wagons and lived off the land. The
quartermasters on both sides had to determine the needs of the soldiers, horses, and, on
the Confederate side, the civilian population. How much food, clothing, fodder for horses,
ammunition and medical supplies would be need to maintain an army of 30,000 - 40,000
troops?
Method:
Divide the class into teams of three or
four students. Each group represents a regiment. Divide the regiments into Union and
Confederate. Make a set of 2" x 2" cards. For a classroom of 30 students, make
thirty cards each of five colors to represent supplies. Mark 5 pieces of each color
20; mark 25 pieces of each color 10.
Orange: Friction caps and primers for
muskets and
artillery pieces.
Blue: Water for troops and
horses.
Yellow: Gunpowder
Red: Meat
Green: Flour, Salt
Do not tell the students what the colors represent. In a large area,
scatter the colored pieces of paper. Have each team write their unit name on the envelope,
which should be left on the ground anchored with a rock at their starting area. Have the
students line up by their regimental headquarters (the envelope). Give the units their
regiment's conditions. When all the colored squares have been picked up, the supply
gathering is over.
Have the students regroup at headquarters and place the colored papers in
the envelope. Explain what the colors and numbers represent.
Have each group total their supplies and create a graph. What conditions
prevented them from gathering all the necessary supplies? |
