What was life like for the Civil War Soldier?
About
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K-12 Objectives |
Materials Needed |
Procedures |
Assessment | Standards |
Resources
Procedures:
Students can refer to the student worksheet.
1. Students will be exploring primary sources, found inside the Valley of the Shadow website, to learn what life was life for soldiers in the Confederate and Union armies, during the Civil War. The teacher may wish to begin with a journal question in which students could write what they think life would be like as a soldier.
2. Students will research answers to this question of what life was like for the Civil War soldier by using primary sources found inside the Valley of the Shadow. If students are new to this resource, the teacher should model navigation tips, beginning with the title page of Valley of the Shadow.
3. There are several locations from which students can begin their searches. The teacher may wish to divide students into groups, or assign partners. Students can then begin investigating these various documents:
| Newspapers | Dossiers | Battle Reports | Battle Movie | War Pictures | Battle Statistics | Letters |
2. Dossiers- Start by entering age, <18, Regiment, VA. 5th infantry, rank, private, casualty, killed in action
3. Battles in 1862, southern and northern official reports
4. VRML movie of the 2nd battle of Manassas
Confederate fortifications at Manassas
Confederate Quarters at Manassas
Virginia 5th Infantry's Statistics
letters by samuel w. north from franklin county
letters by james r. mcCutchan from augusta county
Letter by Charles Brooks, August 21, 1862
Collection of letters You may search for a letter of your own, using this collection search page.
4. As the students are looking at the various sources, students can be completing the related worksheet. The worksheet includes questions, that refer to the various primary documents the students will use. The teacher may wish to use the "Document Questions" page, which can be used for printing the questions the students will use.
5. Students should refer to more than one of the above primary sources. Students may wish to look, for example, at one letter, one picture, and one newspaper article. For each source the student consults, s/he should record relevant information on the student worksheet.
6. After recording information from the documents, students should be ready to reassess their answer to the journal question ("What would life have been like for a Civil War soldier?") from the beginning of class. Instead of writing another diary entry, students may wish to write a letter home, from a soldier during the Civil War. The teacher should also lead a class discussion to allow the students to share and synthesize their findings.
