Cavanagh Copy - Civil War Choice Board

Life of a Civil War Soldier

Women in the Civil War

African American Civil War History

Civil War Generals

Strategies and Technology of the Civil War

Battles of the Civil War

Civil War Medicine

Civil War Photography

Choose a topic you want to learn about

Strategies and Technology

Instructions

1. View the videos from the American Battlefield Trust
2. View the primary source of a new weapon employed during the Civil War

Click the image of the letter below to view the patent drawing and description of the Gatling gun

Press on the image of a quiz to the left to complete the quizizz game!

Home page

Civil War Medicine

Instructions

1. View the videos from the American Battlefield Trust and Weird History
2. Read and listen to John G. Perry's letter of a Union surgeon

Click the image of the letter below to read and listen to a letter from a Union surgeon at Petersburg.

Press on the image of a quiz to the left to complete the quizizz game!

Home page

Life of a soldier

Instructions

1. View the video from Weird History
2. View the video from the American Battlefield Trust
3. Read or listen to the letter written by a Union soldier at the Battle of Antietam

Click the image of the letter below to read and listen to Robert Kellogg, a volunteer for the Connecticut Infantry and Union Army who fought at the Battle of Antietam.

Press on the image of a quiz below to complete the quizizz game!

Go to home page

Civil War Photography

Instructions

1. View the videos from the American Battlefield Trust (Press "Watch on YouTube")
2. View the Photographs and story
3. Play the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson!

Click the image of the letter below to view civil war photographs!

Press on the image of a quiz below to complete the quizizz game!

Go to home page

Civil War Leaders

Instructions

1. View the videos from the American Battlefield Trust on Union and Confederate leaders
2. Read and listen to the letter from General Robert E. Lee to Confederate President Jefferson Davis
3. Play the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson!

Click the image of the letter below to read and listen to General Robert E. Lee's letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis!

Press on the image of a quiz below to complete the quizizz game!

Go to home page

African Americans in the Civil War

Instructions

1. View the video from Crash Course Black American History
2. View the video from the American Battlefield Trust
3. Read or listen to the letter written Private Fletcher of the 54th Massachusetts
4. Play the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson!

Click the image of the letter below to read and listen to Private Fletcher of the 54th Massachusetts describe his experience.

Press on the image of a quiz below to complete the quizizz game!

Go to home page

Women in the Civil War

Instructions

1. View the video from American Battlefield Trust (top)
2. View the video from the International Spy Museum
3. Read or listen to the letter from Brigade Surgeon James L. Dunn about Clara Barton
4. Complete the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson

Press on the image of the quiz below to complete the quizizz activity!

Press on the image of a letter below to read and listen to a letter about Clara Barton

Go to home page

Battles the Civil War

Instructions

1. View the video from American Battlefield Trust on Gettysburg
2. View the History Channel video on Vicksburg
3. Read and listen to the letter from General Ulysses S. Grant
4. Complete the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson

Press on the image of the quiz below to complete the quizizz activity!

Press on the image of a letter below to read and listen to a letter from Union General Ulysses S. Grant

Go to home page

A new rapid cannon developed by Richard J. Gatling used against advancing infantry and calvary. They were deployed by Union generals at the Battle of Petersburg from June 1864 through April 1865

The Gatling Gun

Fast Facts

• Patented on May 9, 1865
• Can shoot 200 bullets per minute
• Personally purchased by Union Generals

There are many qualities that define a leader, explore what those qualities are in both the Union and Confederate armies.Press the link below to learn about Civil War leaders.

Civil War Leaders

Press here to complete the activities below

• View the videos from American Battlefield Trust
• Read and listen to the letter from General Robert E. Lee
• Complete the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson.

Photography was a new technology at the beginning of the Civil War and developed rapidly thereafter.Press the link below to learn about and explore Civil War photography and photographs!

Civil War Photography

Press here to complete the activities below

• View the videos from the American Battlefield Trust
• View and read about Civil War photos
• Complete the quizizz game to earn credit for the activity

Letter from General Grant

". . . Vicksburg is so strong by nature and so well fortified that sufficient force cannot be brought to bear against it to carry it by storm against the present Garrison. It must be taken by a regular siege or by starving out the Garrison. I have all the force necessary for this if my rear was not threatened. It is now certain that Jo Johnston has already collected a force from twenty to twenty-five thousand strong at Jackson & Canton and is using every effort to increase it to forty thousand. With this he will undoubtedly attack Harris Bluff and compell me to abandon the investment of the City if not reinforced before he can get here. I want your District striped to the very lowest possible standard. You can be in no possible danger for the time it will be necessary to keep their troops away. All points in West Tennessee North of the Memphis & Charleston road, if necessary, can be abandoned entirely. West Kentucky may be reduced to a small Garrison at Paducah and Columbus.

If you have not already brought forward the troops to Memphis to send me bring Smith’s, formerly Denver’s, Division. Add to this all other force you can possibly spare. Send two regiments of Cavalry also. If you have not received the Cavalry last ordered from Helena divert them to this place instead of sending two other regiments. No boat will be permitted to leave Memphis going North until transportation is fully provided for all the troops coming this way. The Quartermaster in charge of transportation and Col. W.S. Hillyer are specially instructed to see that this direction is fully enforced. The entire rebel force heretofore against me are completely at my mercy. I do not want to see them escape by being reinforced from elsewhere. I hope before this reaches you troops will be already on the way from your command. Gen. Dodge can spare enough from his force to Garrison Lagrange & Grand Junction. Very respectfully U. S. Grant Maj: Gen.https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/gen-ulysses-s-grant-siege-vicksburg-1863

Dictator was the nickname for this 13-inch mortar located on a flatbed railroad car in Petersburg, VA. Union troops stand behind the weapon. The photograph was created in October 1864.Mortars like the one pictured here were a type of siege weapon used to "lob" shells at a higher angle to inflict more damage on entrenched soldiers, versus artillery cannons that have a straighter projectile trajectory.

"Dictator"

Press the button to explore more Civil War Photographs!

Women served in critical roles during the Civil War - nurses, spies, laborers, and even soldiers. Press the link to complete the learning activities below!

Women in the Civil War

Press here to learn about women in the Civil War

• View the International Spy Museum's video on women spies
• View American Battlefield Trust's video
• Read or listen to the letter from a nurse
• Play the quizizz game to earn credit for the lesson

This topic includes a deeper dive into two critical battles that changed the course of the American Civil War: Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Press the link below to begin the activities

Civil War Battles

Press here to learn more about Civil War battles

• Video on Gettysburg
• Video on Vicksburg
• A letter from Union General Grant
• Quizizz game

John G. Perry - Union Civil War Surgeon

June 27th, 1864 - Field hospital near Petersburg, Virginia"When our division was withdrawn from the extreme front, where it has been since the beginning of the campaign, we surgeons looked for a little less arduous work; but now the artillery brigade has been placed under our care, and we have as much to do as ever. It has not rained for a month, and the poor wounded fellows lie all about me, suffering intensely from heat and flies. The atmosphere is almost intolerable from the immense quantity of decomposing animal and vegetable matter upon the ground. Many of the surgeons are ill, and I indulge in large doses of quinine. Horses and mules die by hundreds from continued hard labor and scant feed. The roads are strewn with them, and the decay of these, with that of human bodies in the trenches, causes malaria of the worst kind. War! war! war! I often think that in the future, when human character shall have deepened, there will be a better way of settling affairs than this of plunging into a perfect maelstrom of horror."

The horrors of war did not end on the battlefield, but continued in field hospitals near and behind the front lines. Press the link below to learn more about Civil War medicine

Civil War Medicine

Press here to complete the activities below

• View the video from Weird History
• View the videos from American Battlefield Trust
• Read and listen to a letter from a surgeon
• Complete the quizizz game

Gen. Robert E. Lee to Confederate President Jefferson Davis

April 20, 1865Mr. President The apprehensions I expressed during the winter, of the moral [sic] condition of the Army of Northern Virginia, have been realized. The operations which occurred while the troops were in the entrenchments in front of Richmond and Petersburg were not marked by the boldness and decision which formerly characterized them. Except in particular instances, they were feeble; and a want of confidence seemed to possess officers and men. This condition, I think, was produced by the state of feeling in the country, and the communications received by the men from their homes, urging their return and the abandonment of the field. The movement of the enemy on the 30th March to Dinwiddie Court House was consequently not as strongly met as similar ones had been. Advantages were gained by him which discouraged the troops, so that on the morning of the 2d April, when our lines between the Appomattox and Hatcher's Run were assaulted, the resistance was not effectual: several points were penetrated and large captures made. At the commencement of the withdrawal of the army from the lines on the night of the 2d, it began to disintegrate, and straggling from the ranks increased up to the surrender on the 9th. On that day, as previously reported, there were only seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-two (7892) effective infantry. During the night, when the surrender became known, more than ten thousand men came in, as reported to me by the Chief Commissary of the Army. During the succeeding days stragglers continued to give themselves up, so that on the 12th April, according to the rolls of those paroled, twenty-six thousand and eighteen (26,018) officers and men had surrendered. Men who had left the ranks on the march, and crossed James River, returned and gave themselves up, and many have since come to Richmond and surrendered. I have given these details that Your Excellency might know the state of feeling which existed in the army, and judge of that in the country. From what I have seen and learned, I believe an army cannot be organized or supported in Virginia, and as far as I know the condition of affairs, the country east of the Mississippi is morally and physically unable to maintain the contest unaided with any hope of ultimate success. A partisan war may be continued, and hostilities protracted, causing individual suffering and the devastation of the country, but I see no prospect by that means of achieving a separate independence. It is for Your Excellency to decide, should you agree with me in opinion, what is proper to be done. To save useless effusion of blood, I would recommend measures be taken for suspension of hostilities and the restoration of peace.I am with great respect, yr obdt svt, R.E. Lee, Genl

Warfare and conflict have a funny way of improving technology at a rapid pace.Press the link below to learn about how technology and strategies evolved during the Civil War!

Civil War Strategies and Tech

Press here to complete the activities below

• View the American Battlefield Trust videos on Civil War technology
• View the primary source on a new weapon of the Civil War
• Complete the quizizz to earn credit for the lesson!

Robert Kellogg

14th Connecticut Volunteers

Diary entry of September 17, 1862 This has been indeed a fearful day, and it is by God's kindnes alone that I am here to write this We woke up early in the morning I went out and read The Bible and a prayer. In a few minutes the enemy began to throw shells at us from a battery which they had planted near us, killing several of the 8th C.V. We were then moved to the right into a cornfield, but we had hardly got there when the order was countermanded, and we were marched to the left, about 1/4 of a mile, directly under a rapid fire of shells from the rebels, into the forest. The shells burst all around and in us. Our Chaplain had his coat pocket torn by a fragment of shell, and one of Co. I was wounded in the arm. After lying in the woods awhile we were formed and marched about 2 mile over hills and through valleys, fording a river about knee deep. From the ford, we were marched to a side hill near it. Here the Rebels again opened on us from another battery, wounding some of our men. We were after awhile formed and marched over the hill and finally in a sort of valley, behind our battery - here we had to lie down under the bursting of the enemy's shells. One shell burst so near as to scatter dirt in my face as I laid upon the ground. After staying here a short time we were ordered over the hill and were formed in a cornfield upon the opposite side.

While we were lying here we were suddenly ordered to come to "attention", as we were obeying this order, a most terrific volley was fired into us - Spiens(?), Maxwell, Willy, Tallcut, Pease and many others of Co. A were here wounded. It is said that the rebels carried the American flag and called to us "don't fire on your own." After staying here a little while and the storm of bullets keeping on I ———— through the valley to the hill beyond when we were formed with the 11th C.V. to support a battery. We went up the hill to the fence in a storm of shell and shot. The battery soon was withdrawn and we with the 11th C.V. were marched off the field some distance beyond the hospital when we formed and rested for the night. Co. A mustered 6 men beside the Capt. but soon a few more came in. Went over to see Thayer who was shot through the shoulder. Came back and laid down to sleep. Thus ended our first day of battle and a fearful one it was. (14th Conn. Vol. fought from near the Mumma farmhouse, down to the west of the Roulette farm near Sunken Road.)

African Americans served in many roles during the Civil War despite the prejudice and discrimination they experienced.Press the link below to learn about the contributions of African Americans in this great struggle for freedom.

African Americans in the Civil War

Press here to complete the activities below

• View the video from Crash Course Black American History
• View the video from the American Battlefield Trust
• Read and listen to the letter from a private in the 54th Massachusetts
• Complete quizizz game

Being a soldier in the Civil War was no picnic. Soldiers on both sides endured hardship and sacrifice.Use the link to learn more about the life of soldiers during this conflict. The learning activities are below

Life as a Civil War Soldier

Press here to complete the activities

• Weird History video on a soldier's life
• A soldier's life in 3 minutes
• Letter from a Union soldier
• Quizizz game

Private Francis H. Fletcher

54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

Private Fletcher was a 22-year old Black man from Salem, Massachusetts that enlisted in Company A of the 54th Massachusetts - one of the first African American regiments in the Civil War.The regiment is famous for refusing inequal pay ($7/month versus $13/month for White soldiers) and were instrumental in a Congressional Bill that equalized pay for Union soldiers in June 1864.What follows is Fletcher's letter to a friend on this issue.

"

"You take a far more liberal view of things than you could in my situation. Just one year ago to day our regt was received in Boston with almost an ovation, and at 5 P. M. it will be one year since we were safely on board transport clear of Battery Wharf and bound to this Department: in that one year no man of our regiment has received a cent of monthly pay all through the glaring perfidy of the U.S. Gov’t. I cannot any more condemn nor recite our wrongs, but console myself that One who is able has said vengeance is mine and I will repay. All the misery and degradation suffered in our regiment by its members’ families is not atoned for by the passage of the bill for equal pay."

Letter from a surgeon, James Dunn, on Clara Barton

"I first met her at the battle of Cedar Mountain, where she appeared in front of the hospital at 12 o’clock at night, with a four-mule team loaded with everything needed, and at a time when we were entirely out of dressings of every kind, she supplied us with everything; and while the shells were bursting in every direction, took her course to the hospital on pour right, where she found everything wanted again. After doing everything she could on the field, she returned to Culpepper, where she stayed dealing out shirts to the naked wounded, and preparing soup, and seeing it prepared in all the hospitals. I thought that night, if heaven ever sent out an angel, she must be one; her assistance was so timely. When we began our retreat up the Rappahannock, I thought no more of our lady friend, only that she had gone back to Washington. We arrived on the disastrous field of Bull Run, and while the battle was raging the fiercest on Friday, who should drive up in front of our hospital but this same woman, with her mules almost dead, having made forced marches from Washington to the army. She was again a welcomed visitor to both the wounded and the surgeons.I wrote you at the time how we got to Alexandria that night and next morning. Our soldiers had no time to rest after reaching Washington, but were ordered to Maryland by forced marches. Several days of hard marches brought us to Frederick, and the battle of South Mountain followed. The next day our army stood face to face with the whole force. The rattle of 150,000 muskets, and the fearful thunder of over 200 cannon, told us that the great battle of Antietam had commenced. I was in a hospital in the afternoon, for it was then only that the wounded began to come in.

We had expended every bandage, torn up every sheet in the house, and everything we could find, when who should drive up but our old friend Miss Barton, with a team loaded down with dressings of every kind, and everything we could ask for. She distributed her articles to the difference hospitals, worked all night making soup, all the next day and night, and when I left, four days after the battle, I left her there ministering to the wounded and the dying. When I returned to the field-hospital last week, she was still at work, supplying them with delicacies of every kind, and administering to their wants, all of which she does out of her own private fortune. Now, what do you think of Miss Barton? In my feeble estimation, Gen. McClellan, with all his laurels, sinks into insignificance beside the true heroine of the age, the angel of the battlefield.”https://www.civilwarmed.org/explore/bibs/barton/dunn-letter/