Teaching Notes

Jake Wynn, who is currently the Director of Interpretation at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Maryland, wrote this blog post about two brothers who fought and died in the battle of the Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia in 1864. The author is particularly interested the history of the small Pennsylvania coal country area where he grew up - and the same area where the two brothers were born and worked in the coal mines before entering the war. In addition, Mr. Wynn focuses on the experience of the average Civil War soldier.

I am always looking for ways to help students understand what it was like to BE a soldier, a craftsman, a farmer, a schoolteacher, or whatever in history!

I would use this blog post first as the basis for telling a good story to my students. I could prep students with a few questions of my own - What prompted two brothers named Josiah and Franklin Workman to volunteer to serve with the Union infantry of the Pennsylvania 96^th? Why did they lie about their ages? How do we even know about these brothers? What happened to them?

Even though I think students would get the gist of the story, I’m not sure they would have much contextual knowledge to build a complete picture in their minds. That’s where primary sources come into play. Maybe I would show a few pictures from the blog. (I could upload screen shots of them to this album.) Depending on how much time we have, I could have students start building contextual knowledge through their own searches for primary sources. If time is more limited, I could have an album ready beforehand. Either way, I’m a huge believer in having students ask their own questions, so I don’t believe the research would stop here.

Wynning History

Teaching Notes

The article states that when the father of Josiah and Franklin Workman died, leaving their mother with nine children to raise, the boys probably went to work in the coal mines either as breaker boys or as mule drivers. To give an idea of one of the possible motivations for enlisting, I looked for photos of breaker boys and mule drivers. Based on this photo and others, I would have students use their mobile devices to learn more about the work and working conditions of a Pennsylvania coal miner of any age, but especially of boys like Josiah and Frank Workman. 

breaker boys coal mining

Teaching Notes

A young mule driver in 1908, probably twelve years old - the same age as Josiah when he began working in the coal mines of Wiconisco Township in Pennsylvania. "According to family friends, Josiah brought in about $4 per week in wages home to his mother....Likely employed either as a breaker boy (sorting coal from slate) or as a mule driver in the mines, Josiah would have been expected to work long hours in highly dangerous working conditions." -Wynning History (or go to link in first album item) I would use this photo along with the previous photo to discuss coal mining and the jobs of children in the mines.

mule driver coal mining  

Teaching Notes

I would use this photograph of the Spotsylvania Court House to give students an idea of where the fighting took place. Why was such an insignificant looking place the scene of such a strategic battle during the Civil War? I would take students through the primary source analysis process of Observe/Reflect/Question - http://loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/resources/Analyzing_Photographs_and_Prints.pdf 

Another teaching idea would be to cut the photograph into three parts – the left side with trees and a stone wall, the building, and the three African Americans at the well. The photograph was taken between 1861 and 1865, so we don’t know if it was taken before or after the battle of Spotsylvania. Using observation skills, can students find evidence for the most likely date for this photograph? How would their questions change based on the date range? This might be a good place to discuss corroborating evidence and to search for it as well.

Spotsylvania Court House Primary Source Analysis

Teaching Notes

This hand-drawn map of Spotsylvania Court House shows the location of the Confederate line and the location of Union troops. I would use it to highlight the importance of maps and geography throughout the Civil War. Maps could also be used to answer questions about the importance of geography in war strategy and planning. Why would officers need hand-drawn maps, and who drew them?

The Civil War map collections of the Library of Congress are phenomenal, so again, finding corroborating evidence about the Spotsylvania location should be a fairly easy task.

I’m also thinking that if I, as a teacher, had limited time to work through this lesson, a divide-and-conquer approach might work best. I could divide the class into coal miners, map makers, officers, foot soldiers, and more. Each group would then be responsible for sharing their learning, possibly in a round robin format or in stations or through a gallery walk.  

maps Civil War Maps

Teaching Notes

By using this sketch of the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, I could expand the conversation that started with the hand-drawn map to explore the importance of artists in wartime. How accurate are drawings as primary sources? Are photographs more accurate? Always? Sometimes? Never? 

Art/Music artists

Teaching Notes

It’s easier to find photographs of officers than of rank-and-file soldiers, but at least this photograph gives an idea of who might have led the Workman brothers into battle. The obvious question here is, “How can we find a photograph of the fighting soldiers in the ranks at Spotsylvania?”

When students cannot locate the perfect primary source, what are their options? Help them think through search strategies, use the Ask a Librarian service, or extrapolate to photographs of foot soldiers in other battles. Problem solve together.

This might also be a good place to bring in a short mathematics lesson. How many soldiers died at Spotsylvania for each side? How many officers? How did the numbers compare with other battles? What were the casualty rates for those not mortally wounded? Beyond mathematics connections, this discussion could lead to learning about Civil War medicine and medical advances.

Civil War Officers mathematics

Teaching Notes

This is a familiar song even today. Were the Workman brothers likely to have been familiar with it? I’m a huge believer in finding arts connections no matter what the topic under consideration may be. Another group of students could break off to study the music of the Civil War. If they happen to be talented performers, they might contribute to the overall understanding of the event by performing music of the era.

Art/Music

Teaching Notes

This is a poem written in 1879, more than a decade after Spotsylvania, by a veteran of the 96^th Pennsylvania. While the Harrisburg Independent is not available from Chronicling America, students might find other poetry from the Civil War in newspapers of that era.

This gave me the idea that I could work with an English teacher on a writing assignment to represent the Workman brothers’ experience. Found Poetry comes to mind. On to the next album item!

war poetry

Teaching Notes

A student search of Chronicling America on the keyword Spotsylvania or Spottsylvania (sometimes spelled this way) will turn up over three hundred results. Some articles are eyewitness accounts, although certainly not all.

The example here is one such eyewitness account from the northern point of view, and it would work well for a found poetry activity. The process is described here in the Found Poetry primary source set from the Teachers Page: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/poetry/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf

There are also a number of newspapers from the confederate states that should represent quite a different perspective. It would be interesting for some students to try their hand at found poetry based on those accounts. I’m wondering if they would really be very different or if they would end up representing and interpreting a similar experience – that of the common soldier.

A note on the article title - Inst. (an abbreviation of instant) is a term that referred to a recent occurrence in the present or current month. The article was written on May 15, 1864; therefore "up to the 11th inst." means May 11, 1864. 

Chronicling America eyewitness accounts Found Poetry

Teaching Notes

I couldn’t find a primary source film from the Civil War, of course, but I did find a film of Civil War veterans accompanying the funeral cortege of Hiram Cronk, a veteran of the War of 1812! He died at the age of 105 and was thought to have been the last surviving veteran of that war. I’m not sure how I would use the film in a lesson on Spotsylvania, but it’s interesting to see what the Workman boys might have looked like in 1905 when the film was produced. Had they survived, they would have been around sixty years old.

How has the battle at Spotsylvania been commemorated or memorialized? Are there any monuments, and if so,  where are they? Is there a historical society for the 96^th Pennsylvania Infantry? What role have historians played in keeping the memory of that famous battle alive? I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but as usual, I have more questions than answers!

Art/Music Civil War Veterans