The Battle of Gettysburg Dairy

Introduction

Imagine If You Will...

What do you think it would have been like to be a soldier in the Battle of Gettysburg? What would you have seen? How would you feel? How would the experiences of Union and Confederate soldiers have been similar, and how would they have been different? How would each view the results of the battle? These are topics that you will explore in this WebQuest activity.

Introduction

The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War. It is sometimes called the high water mark of the Confederacy. Prior to the battle, the war had been going better for the South than for the North, and Confederate hopes were high. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate troops made their deepest attack into northern territory. If they had won the battle, it would have opened the way for an attack on Washington, D.C.

However, with the Union victory at Gettysburg, the Confederate army was forced to retreat back to Virginia. Though the war would continue for almost two more years, the South never again threatened Northern territory, and its army was increasingly on the defensive.

Gettysburg was also the bloodiest battle of the Civil war, with about 50,000 men (out of 157,000 who fought) killed, injured, or missing during the three days of battle.

How Do We Know About the Battle?

We know what happened at Gettysburg from many different sources. These include official battle reports, newspaper stories, accounts written later by soldiers who were in the battle, letters written by soldiers to family and friends, and diaries that some soldiers kept.

Diaries are a particularly interesting source of information. Because some soldiers wrote in their diaries nearly every day, they recorded information while it was still fresh in their memories, before they began to forget details. The diaries also provide interesting insights into a soldier’s daily life.

 

Task

Your Task

You will need to write four or more diary entries totaling 800 words:

  1. At least one diary entry by a Union soldier just before the Battle of Gettysburg.
  2. At least one diary entry by the same Union soldier just after the battle.
  3. At least one diary entry by a Confederate soldier just before the battle.
  4. At least one diary entry by the same Confederate soldier just after the battle.

Your diary entries should

  • reflect the differing views and experience of each side in the battle and

  • include details about parts of the battle (but remember that a soldier would have experienced only parts of the battle).

You may choose to write additional diary entries if you wish, or write several shorter entries before and after the battle for each soldier. You will also need to create a short biography for each soldier.

There are five parts to the task:

  1. Conduct background research.
  2. Create a short backstory for each soldier.
  3. Write the diary entries.
  4. Use the evaluation rubric to check your diary entries.
  5. Submit your completed diary entries for a grade.

Details about each step are described in the Process section of the WebQuest.

Process

The Process

There are seven steps in the process for this WebQuest. Follow the directions below for each task. Links to other sites will open in a new tab or window.

 

1. Conduct background research.

Before you can write your diary entries, you need to know about the Battle of Gettysburg. You also need to know something about the life of a soldier during the Civil War. Finally, you should read some diary entries from actual Civil War diaries to get ideas about how you might write your entries.

Battle of Gettysburg

Life of a Civil War Soldier

Civil War Diaries

2. Create a short biography for each soldier.

The task requires you to write diary entries for a Union soldier and for a Confederate soldier. You will need to create a character for each. Use the following questions to help you develop each character.

  • How old is your character?
  • Is your character an officer or an enlisted man?
  • Is your character a seasoned veteran, a new recruit, or something else?
  • What kind of family does your character have? Is he married? Does he have any children? Is he a young man who just left his family?
  • Did your character volunteer to serve, or was he drafted? What does he think of army life?

Write a paragraph about each character that answers the questions above. Have your teacher review your biographies before you write your diary entries.

3. Write the diary entries.

Your diary entries should total at least 200 words for each soldier. (800 words in all) Your diary entries should:

  • contain a date for each entry
  • be factually and historically accurate
  • include details about the Battle of Gettysburg
  • include sensory details—what did your characters see, hear, smell, or feel?
  • reveal what your characters think or feel about the battle and its result
  • show the differences in viewpoint of the North and South

5. Use the evaluation rubric to check your diary entries.

Use the evaluation rubric to do a self-assessment of your own work. Revise your diary entries as necessary based on your self-assessment.

 

6. Submit your completed diary entries for a grade.

Submit all of the following items to your teacher for a grade:

  • diary entries
  • character biographies

Evaluation

Evaluation

Use the following rubric for self-assessments of your work. Please use it to check your work. I will use the same rubric to grade your work.

Gettysburg Diary WebQuest Evaluation
CATEGORY Excellent

90%-100%		 Good

80%-89%		 Adequate

70%-79%		 Insufficient

0%-69%
Focus on Assigned Topic

(5 points)		 The diary entries are related to the assigned topic and allow the reader to understand much more about the topic. Most of the diary entries are related to the assigned topic. The entries wander off at one or two points, but the reader can still learn something about the topic. Some of the diary entries are related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic. No attempt has been made to relate the diary entries to the assigned topic.
Accuracy of Facts

(10 points)		 All facts presented in the diary entries are accurate. Almost all facts presented in the diary entries are accurate. Most facts presented in the diary entries are accurate (at least 70%). There are several factual errors in the diary entries.
Characters

(5 points)		 The soldier characters are named and clearly described in the biographies. Most readers could describe the characters accurately. The soldier characters are named and described in the biographies. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters were like. The soldier characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters. It is hard to tell who the soldier characters are.
Organization

(5 points)		 The diary entries are very well organized. One entry follows another in a logical sequence and the entries are in a clear flow. The diary entries are pretty well organized. One entry may seem out of place. The flow of entries is usually clear. The diary entries are a little hard to follow. The flow is sometimes not clear. The diary entries seem to be randomly arranged.
Creativity

(5 points)		 The diary entries contain many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader’s enjoyment. The author has really used his or her imagination. The diary entries contain a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader’s enjoyment. The author has used his or her imagination. The diary entries contain a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his or her imagination. There is little evidence of creativity in the diary entries. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.
Requirements

(10 points)		 All of the written requirements were met:

  • at least 200 words of entries for each character
  • at least one entry before the battle and one entry after the battle for each character
  • each entry is dated
  • includes details about the Battle of Gettysburg
  • includes sensory details—reveals what the characters think about the battle and its result
  • shows the differences in the viewpoints of the North and South
 Almost all (about 90%) the written requirements were met. Most (about 75%) of the written requirements were met, but several were not. Many requirements were not met.

Conclusion

Conclusion

Old tintype photo of a Civil War sergeant with his wife

Corporal James M. Dennis of Company F, 16th Ohio Infantry Regiment, and Companies A and F, 114th Ohio Infantry Regiment, with Hannah C. Barnard.

Source: Library of Congress. Public Domain.

As you complete this WebQuest, take some time to reflect on what you have learned.

  • What did you learn about the Battle of Gettysburg?
  • What did you learn about the lives of soldiers during the Civil War?
  • What was it like to take on the role of a Civil War soldier?
  • What did the Battle of Gettysburg mean for the North, and how was that different than what it meant for the South?
  • Why are diaries an important historical record?

You may wish to start your own diary so that future generations will have a record of what you think about present-day events!

End of WebQuest

Credits

Reference List

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Corporal James M. Dennis of Company F, 16th Ohio Infantry Regiment, and Companies A and F, 114th Ohio Infantry Regiment, with Hannah C. Barnard. (1861). Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.26894/

Diaries and journals of the American Civil War. (2011).University of Notre Dame rare books and special collections. Retrieved April 28, 2012, from http://www.rarebooks.nd.edu/digital/civil_war/diaries_journals/index.sh…

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Penn State University Libraries. (n.d.). Finding aid for the Philip C. Shaffner and Robert H. Ward 1862 Civil War diaries, and 1869 accounts. Penn State University Libraries. Retrieved April 29, 2012, from http://www.libraries.psu.edu/dam/psul/up/digital/findingaids/5369.htm

Private William F. Bower of Company D, 21st Ohio Regiment Infantry Volunteers, with bayoneted musket. (1861). still image. Retrieved April 29, 2012, from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.26856/

The Battle of Gettysburg timeline. (2007, 2012).Visit-Gettysburg.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012, from http://www.visit-gettysburg.com/the-battle-of-gettysburg-timeline.html

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