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Civil War Letters Lesson

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Civil War Letters Lesson 1 Becoming a Civil War Letter Writing Correspondent Background: In this activity, you and a partner will play the role of either supporters of the Union or the Confederacy. You will develop imaginary personalities for these individuals and begin a series of letters corresponding to each other. Consider the various kinds of Americans living in the 1860s, such as immigrants, a free African-Americans, slaves, Mexican-Americans, or Americans whose ancestors fought in the American Revolution. Letters will look authentic if they are hand written on white stationery. Each should be headed with a date and the place from which the letter is being written. They should be "mailed" in envelopes with the name and address of the fictitious person being written to. Samples of Civil War envelopes can be found at the Library of Congress. Enter “Civil War Envelopes” here, in the search field and click “Go.” Part 1: Formulating your Civil War Character Directions: On a sheet of paper develop your pair’s characters by answering the questions below. • What are your names? • How do you know one another, or how are you related? (e.g. parent child, siblings, husband/wife, engaged couple, etc.) • How old is each of you? • Where does each of you live? (Look at a map and find a city, town or rural area where you are from.) • Describe your home and life before the Civil War (important members of your family, upbringing and education, your livelihood before the war.) • Describe your reasons for supporting the position of either the Union or the Confederacy. (If you are a man, explain what compelled you to enlist to fight. If you are a woman, explain how you feel about your writing partner joining up to fight.) • Describe the most pressing concern in your life, your hopes and dreams, before the war broke out. • Describe the ways in which you fear the war will change your life. You will use information from part one and incorporate it into your letters in Part 2. PBS.org/civilwar 2 Part 2 Writing your Letters Directions: Now that you have your character descriptions developed you can write letters to your partner. The letters should be handwritten and look authentic. Before you write the letters, you can stain the paper with tea, if you’d like. The letters should be "mailed" in envelopes with the name and address of the fictitious person being written to. Samples of Civil War envelopes can be found at the Library of Congress. Enter “Civil War Envelopes” here, in the search field and click “Go.” Your letters are to incorporate information from your character description above and center around one of the major event during the war, listed below. Include information about your personal life – family stories, relationships, interests, and more. Research the event to identify additional key information for your letter. Write letters in character rather than in the standard essays format. For example, consider how a a slave, a slave owner, a northern immigrant, a northern abolitionist, or others would have reacted to the Emancipation Proclamation. Event Choices • The election of Abraham Lincoln • Battle of Chattanooga and the secession of several Southern states. • Gettysburg Address • The attack on Fort Sumter • In 1863, President Lincoln established a national day of • 1st or 2nd Battle of Bull Run Thanksgiving the last Thursday of November • Ironclad ships battle at Hampton Roads • the Wilderness Campaign • Seven Days Battle • Battle of Spotsylvania • Battle of Shiloh • Battle of Cold Harbor • Battle of Antietam • Battle of Petersburg • Emancipation Proclamation • Sherman’s March to the Sea • The formation of African American • Battle of Fort Pillow battle units • Burning of Atlanta • Battle of Gettysburg • Battle of Mobile Bay • Battle of Ft. Wagner • Christmas during any year of the war • Battle of Vicksburg • Confederate surrender at • Battle of Chickamauga Appomattox Court House PBS.org/civilwar .
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