Introduction
"This union has been divided in like a civil war - brother against brother - sister against sister. And I'm pulling it together. We've already seen evidence of that in New York, in Pennsylvania, in California. The first thing is we have to get on the same page. We have to be united in one cause." -James P. Hoffa
In this WebQuest, you will journey into the life of a Confederate soldier during the Civil War! You will read various primary and secondary sources (newspaper articles, photographs, websites...)accounts of the war during three distinct periods:
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1) Just prior to the war (Antibellum Era South)
2) Fighting for the Confederacy (During the Civil War)
3) After the war (Begining of Reconstruction Era South)
For each time period, you will write a minimum of three diary entrys as your confederate soldier. There will be a variety of source materials for you to use in order to gain background information to make your soldier's life more authentic and accurate!
When you are finished you will combine all your entires together to create a journal chronicalling the life of your fictional soldier before, during, and after the war.
The final product journal can be typed, hand written, colorful, plain, antique or modern looking.... ANY STYLE YOU WANT! (well, as long as you follow the directions!)
Task
Your task for this WebQuest will be divided into seven parts. They are as follows:
1) Using the links on the following page, read through the source materials under the header "Antibellum South"
2) Write a minimum of three journal entries in the voice of a fictional confederate soldier describing his experiences, his surroundings, his family...and his overall life duing this time period before the Civil War.
BE CREATIVE, make a life for this soldier!
Answer questions like how did he end up in the war? Was he drafted or did he volunteer? Was he a slave owner? Was he in support of the Confederacy? Did he have a girlfriend?
3) Complete step number one again except for the links under the header "The Civil War"
4) Write a minimum of three journal entries in the voice of a fictional confederate soldier describing his experiences fighting for the confederacy during the Civil War
BE CREATIVE, give your soldier some interesting battles and war experiences!
Answer questions like what battles did he fight in? What was his camp life like? Who lead his unit? Did he survive?
5) Complete step number one again except for the links under the header "Reconstruction Era South"
6) Write a minimum of three journal entries in the voice of a fictional confederate soldier describing his experiences after the war.
BE CREATIVE, give your soldier a new life or an unexpected homecoming!
Answer questions like did the war change him? Did it change his hometown and family? Did he prosper after the war? Did he marry that girlfriend?
7) Compile the journal entries into one complete anthology. Edit them for grammatical issues and then rewrite or type them into a completed journal to be graded.
BE CREATIVE! Make it unique, colorful, handwritten or typed (but LEGIBLE).
Process
1) Antibellum Era South
Primary Source Material:
Augusta County: Diary of Francis McFarland (1859 1864)
http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/AD9500
Franklin County: Diary of William Heyser (1862-1863)
http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/FD1004
Augusta County: Diary of DeWitt Clinton Gallaher (1864-1865)
http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/AD1000
Secondary Source Material:
The American Civil War New York Times
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/civil_war_us/index.html?8qa
Antibellum Slaver PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2956.html
Documenting the American South
http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/antebellum.html
2) The Civil War
Primary Source Material:
Robert E. Lee Letters
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/robert-e-lees-letter-to-his.html
Aftermath of the Carnage
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/the-aftermath-of-the-carnage.html
Recollections from Battle
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/recollections-of-the-battle.html
Secondary Source Material:
The Battle of Second Manassas
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/second-manassas.html
The Battle of Chancellorsville
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battle-chancellorsville.htm
Other Battles
The American Confederation
http://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/AMERICA/Confederate.html
3) Reconstruction Era South
Primary Source Material:
American Civil War-Reconstruction
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction
Jim Crow Stories
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_reconstruct.html
Education During Reconstruction
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/freedmens-education-during-reconstructionSecondary Source Material:Civil War Timeline Links http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/civilwar/recon/platte.htmlhttp://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/civilwar/recon/ogden.htmlhttp://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/civilwar/recon/lroydean.html
Evaluation
This is how I am going to grade your completed work:
This project will be out of 50 Points
1. All facts in your journal entries are historically accurate and based on the websites and documents we gave you. (Full Credit +10)2. A rough draft of all three journal entries for each time period completed. ( +10)3. A final journal, consisting of nine entries, is completed. (+10)4. All three time periods are clearly represented (+10)5. The Journal is creative, organized, and neat. (+10)This project is supposed to allow you to be as creative as you would like. As a result, there are not many standards that you are required to meet. Only that you complete the required work, including accurate information from all of the sources, documents, and websites that you were assigned to read from.
Conclusion
This WebQuest has enabled you to tie together all of the information that we have learned about the Civil War. By looking at the progression of the war and writing from the viewpoint of a confederate soldier, you were able to better understand the motivations behind southern secession, and their fight against the Union. You were also able to gain a deep level of understanding (and possibly appreciation for!) those who fought during the war.
This WebQuest was also aimed at lencouraging you to look at every side of a conflict, as both sides can shed valuble light on the situation as a whole.
You have also learned how to navigate between internet links and record research! You are now one step closer to becoming a fully fledged historian! Finally, you have continued to develop your writing skills through creating journal entrys.
Credits
Permission is granted for others to use and modify this WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. See the Creative Commons Attribution • Non-Commercial• Share-Alike license for details.
WebQuest Designed by:
Ms. Veronica Grande and Ms. Miranda Lauher