How do you piece together the history of the Civil War?
As explorers of the past, we can look at a variety of sources—maps, letters, diaries, objects, music, images, and more—to piece together a sense of the Civil War’s complexity. The images and related resources from this poster are designed to get students thinking about how primary sources can help uncover stories about the past. As the poster illustrates, it takes many sources to create a more complete picture of the Civil War.
Use this interactive poster to begin a conversation with students about what we know about the past, and especially about our nation’s most deadly conflict, the Civil War.
How to Use This Interactive Poster
The poster is divided into four quadrants. Hover your mouse over a quadrant to highlight it and click. When the image of that quadrant appears, click on an asterisk to learn about the object and find related learning and teaching resources.
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Teaching Resources
- “What is Historical Thinking?” video
- Learn What Primary Sources Are
- Learn What Secondary Sources Are
Are you an elementary teacher?
Click here to visit our elementary poster!
Are you a secondary teacher?
Click here to visit our secondary poster!
Civil War Interactive Poster
Slave Receipt
This slave receipt records the sale of a female slave, Mary, and her daughter Louisianna for $1000. What can this object tell you about the laws, commerce, and geography behind the institution of slavery?
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Teaching Resources
- Learning History with What’s ‘Lying Around’: Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom
- Lesson Plan: A Look at Slavery Through Posters and Broadsides
Source: Slave Receipt, 1853, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
African American Soldier
This photograph is of an African American Union soldier wearing a kepi, or flat topped hat. What can you learn about this man from this image? What was life like for African American soldiers during the Civil War?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Photograph: Hand-colored Tintype, [Seated black soldier], 1860-70, LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-11310.
Bernard Bluecher Graves, Corp., C.S.A.
Bernard B. Graves joined Virginia’s Hanover Artillery and in October, 1862, he was transferred to the Amherst Artillery [Virginia]. He was captured near Waynesboro, VA, on March 2, 1865, and imprisoned in Fort Delaware. What was it like to be a soldier? What motivated soldiers to fight?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Photograph, [Bernard Bluecher Graves, Corp., C.S.A.], 1861–1865, LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-09867.
Capt. Custer with Lieut. Washington and His Slave
During the Civil War, former West Point military classmates often faced each other across the field of battle. Were these men enemies or friends?
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Teaching Resources
Union Soldier with a Woman
The war affected both those on the battlefield and those left behind. What was it like on the homefront during the Civil War?
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Teaching Resources
Jasper Barney Letter
Illinois farmer and Union private, Jasper Barney, writes to his brother-in-law, giving his opinion on the war and on emancipation. Can one letter give you a well-rounded view of people’s opinions during the Civil War?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Letter (page 2), Jasper Barney, October 24, 1862, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Map of Gettysburg
This map, drawn from the sketches of Theodore Ditterline, shows troop and artillery positions, as well as relief, roads, railroads, and residents’ homes. How did geography shape the battle of Gettysburg?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Map, “Field of Gettysburg, July 1st, 2nd & 3rd, 1863,” LOC: g3824gcw0331000.
Holyoke Quilt
This quilt made an amazing journey from South Carolina to Kansas during the Civil War. How do you think it made this journey?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Holyoke Quilt, 1845-1865, Kansas Historical Society.
Sheet Music, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”
This song, written by bandmaster Patrick S. Gilmore while serving in the Union Army, also became popular in the South after the Civil War. How does music help explain how people were thinking at the time?
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Teaching Resources
Haversack
This linen bag belonged to a Confederate soldier. Soldiers typically carried their rations and personal items in bags like this. Notice where a hole has been repaired. What might this tell you about this bag?
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Teaching Resources
Aiken’s Landing, Virginia
This young woman is posing in front of a house in Aiken’s Landing, VA, which was where Union and Confederate prisoners were exchanged. What does this photograph tell you about her? What were women’s roles during the war?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Stereograph Negative, “Aiken”s Landing, Virginia,” 1864, LOC: LC-DIG-cwpb-01916.
John Clem and Brother
This image shows John Clem, a Union drummer boy, and his brother. What happened to John Clem during and after the war? What was life like for other children?
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Teaching Resources
Source: Glass Negative, “John Clem & Brother,” 1860s, LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-01073.
“A Virginia slave child in 1863”
Historians think this is a photo of a former slave named Fannie Virginia Casseopia Lawrence. Originally from Virginia, she was adopted by a Northerner, Catharine Lawrence, during the war. What was life like for other slave children?
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Teaching Resources
Source: “A Virginia slave child in 1863,” Van Dorn, c. 1863, LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-11248.
Domino Set
This domino set belonged to G.B. Hale of the Massachusetts Volunteers. Soldiers often passed time between combat with board games such as chess, checkers, and cards. What can this tell you about daily life for an average soldier?