Artillery and Teamwork Field Trip

A Ranger leads an Artillery and Teamwork Field Trip

NPS Photo

Theme

Train in teams on the loading and firing procedure of Civil War artillery before being put into the position of the 9th Massachusetts Battery.

Goal

The Artillery and Teamwork Field Trip Program seeks to personalize the battle by having each student stand in the footsteps of a Civil War Soldier. We hope to humanize these people and bring their experiences to life. We do this by training your students as Civil War Artillerists. Each student will have the opportunity to learn several different gun positions and why each was important to the success of the entire crew. The leadership of John Bigelow was important, but just as important was the teamwork and training of his soldiers. We hope to have your students work as a team to repel the Confederate advance on July 2nd.

Objectives

The students will:

• Understand the role of artillery in the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg
• Explore the terrain of the battlefield, following in the footsteps of the soldiers who fought here
• Connect with the lives of soldiers and civilians from 1863
• Understand teamwork and how it played a role in the battle and in our lives today

Note to Teachers

Your students will gain the most benefit from this program if they are prepared for their visit. The preparatory information and activities in the attached booklet are helpful as students retain the most information when they are prepared for the field trip, knowing what to expect, what is expected of them, and with some base of knowledge upon which the ranger can build. These activities should be reviewed in the classroom prior to your visit. The grade level of enclosed information may not be appropriate to the level of understanding of your students. We leave the interpretation of this information up to you.

New pre-visit and post-visit activities will be posted soon as a simplification of the attached booklet.

Battlefield Footsteps Booklet

Grade Level and Program Options

This program can be tailored to grades 3-12. Please allow 60-90 minutes for this field trip option.

 

Explore our other Field Trip options