The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War. Teaching with Historic Places. INSTITUTION National Park Service (Dept
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 462 330 SO 032 885 AUTHOR Montgomery, Don; Baker, Lea Flowers TITLE The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War. Teaching with Historic Places. INSTITUTION National Park Service (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC. National Register of Historic Places. PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 24p.; Edited by Kathleen Hunter. AVAILABLE FROM Teaching with Historic Places, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, Suite NC400, Washington, DC 20240. For full text: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/70prairie/70pra irie.htm. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Civil War (United States); *Historic Sites; *History Instruction; Primary Sources; *Reminiscence; Secondary Education; Social Studies; Student Educational Objectives; Student Research IDENTIFIERS National Register of Historic Places; *Witnesses ABSTRACT Julia West was 14 years old when she viewed the carnage and destruction of the battle field at Prairie Grove, Arkansas. She was not the only young spectator at the battle, but she had one of the best views of the _conflict. From her home on West Hill (AK)-, Julia-beheld the horror and splendor of battle when the men of the Union Army of the Frontier encountered the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi. Today, only memories remain as testament to a battle that changed many families' lives forever. This lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file for "Prairie Grove Battlefield" and other primary sources. The lesson can be used to teach units on the Civil War and southern history. It provides an overview with Julia West's recollections of the Battle of Prairie Grove and is divided into the following sections: "About This Lesson"; "Getting Started: Inquiry Question"; "Setting the Stage: Historical Context"; "Locating the Site: Maps (Prairie Grove Battlefield)"; "Determining the Facts: Readings (Recollections of Julia West Pyeatt; Recollections of Caldonia An Borden Brandenburg; Memoir of Nancy Morton Staples)"; "Visual Evidence: Images (Borden House; Nancy Morton Staples at the Morton House; Morton Cellar)"; "Putting It All Together: Activities (Reliability of Historic Sources; Modern Civil Wars; Civil War Year in Your Area; Monuments and Memorials)"; and "Supplementary Resources." (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document. The National Park Service I. tts Teaching with Historic Places The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War Teaching with Historic Places National Register of Historic Places National Park Service 1849 C. Street, N.W., Suite NC400 Washington, D.C. 20240 http://www.cr.nps.govIntltwhp/wwwlps/lessons/7oprairiel7Oprairie.htm U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) f/hisdocument has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to 2001 improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. A Program of the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places BEST COPY AVA!LABLE ParkNe , . OW ..',wai PtianaI Se .. C11."' Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) is a program of the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior, as the nations's official list of cultural resources significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. TwHP is sponsored, in part, by the Cultural Resources Training Initiative and Parks as Classrooms programs of the National Park Service. This lesson is one in a series that brings the important stories of historic places into classrooms across the country. For more information, contact Teaching with Historic Places, National Register of Historic places, 1849 C Street, NW, Suite NC400, Washington, D.C. 20240, or visit the program's Web site at www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp. The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War December the 7th, 1862, will long be remembered especially by those of us who lived here and witnessed the battle of Prairie Grove. It was a beautiful, cold, frosty Sunday morning.... About 10 o'clock the cannonading began and about noon war began in earnest. When it seemed everyone would be killed. --Mrs. Julia West Pyeatt (Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park) Witness to the Battle of Prairie Grove, as a child Julia West was fourteen years old when she viewed the carnage and destruction ofthe battle at Prairie Grove, Arkansas. Yet, the images of that day and those that followed were vividly etched in her memory forever. She was notthe only young spectator at the battle, but she did have one of the best views of the conflict. Looking south from her home on West Hill, Julia beheld the splendor and horror of battle when the men of the Union Army of the Frontier encountered the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi. The southern troops waited atop the heavily-wooded Prairie Grove ridge stretching from the large yellow two-story Borden House on the east end to the small log Morton House on the west end of the ridge. The only rebels visible were those in the clearings around the homes and theFayetteville-Cane Hill road which bisected the ridge. Footsore Yankees advanced across open corn, wheat, and hay fields in the valley to face the Southern foe. While none of the original houses remain, the valley fields continue to produce hay and wheat. Descendants of the West family still live on their hill. On the east end of the ridge stands the second Borden House; built in 1868 to replace the one burned the dayafter the battle. Only memories remain as testament to a battle that changed many families' lives forever. This lesson is based on Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Lesson Getting Started: Inquiry Question Setting the Stage: Historical Context Locating the Site: Maps 1. The Prairie Grove Battlefield Determining the Facts: Readings 1. The Recollections of Julia West Pyeatt 2. The Recollections of Caldonia Ann Borden Brandenburg 3. The Memoir of Nancy Morton Staples Visual Evidence: Images 1. The Borden House 2. Nancy Morton Staples at the Morton House 3. The Morton Cellar Putting It All Together: Activities 1. Reliability of Historic Sources 2. Modern Civil Wars 3. The Civil War in Your Area 4. Monuments and Memorials Supplementary Resources About This Lesson This account of the Prairie Grove Civil War battle is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file for "Prairie Grove Battlefield" and other primary sources about the battle. It was written by Don Montgomery, Park Historian at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, and Lea Flowers Baker, Education Coordinator at the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. It was edited by Kathleen Hunter, an education consultant working in Hartford, CT and the Teaching with Historic Places staff. Where it fits into the curriculum Topics: The lesson can be used in teaching units on the Civil War, and southern history. It will help students gain a better understanding of how the Civil War affected civilians of all ages and provide an opportunity to examine what and why people remember, and how those memories affect our record of the past. Time period: Civil War Era. Objectives for students 1) To place the Battle of Prairie Grove in the context of Arkansas' role in the Civil War. 2) To understand the harsh realities of civil war and its effects on both soldiers and civilians. 3) To learn to analyze oral histories for content and reliability. 4) To consider how events related to the Civil War affected communities across the country. Materials for students The materials listed below either can be used directly on the computer or can be printed out, photocopied, and distributed to students. 1) one map of Prairie Grove Battlefield; 2) three readings from eye witness accounts of the battle and its aftermath; 3 3) three photos of places associated with the battle. Visiting the site Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park is approximately twelve miles west of Fayetteville, Arkansas, on U.S. Highway 62 and is open year round from 8:00 a.m. until dark. For more information, contact: Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, P. 0. Box 306, Prairie Grove, AR 72753, or visit the park's Web site at http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/park.asp?park=Prairie+Grove+Battlefield 4 Getting Started Inquiry Question Zr.. --zs -w-°. What may have occurred here? What clues help you determine this? 5 8 Photo Analysis Worksheet Step 1: Examine the photograph for 10 seconds. How would you describe the photograph? Step 2: Divide the photograph into quadrants and study each section individually. What details--such as people, objects, activities--do you notice? Step 3: What other information--such as time period, location, season, reason photo was taken--can you gather from the photo? Step 4: How would you revise your first description of the photo using the information noted in Steps 2 and 3? Step 5: What questions do you have about the photograph? How might you find answers to these questions? 6 9 Setting the Stage On Dec. 7, 1862, Union forces from the Army of the Frontier and Confederates from the newly formed Army of the Trans-Mississippi clashed on the open corn, wheat, and hay fields of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The opposing forces had previously fought several minor engagements in Missouri and Arkansas. The battle opened with Confederate cavalry routing some Union cavalry a few miles south of the Prairie Grove Church.