Monocacy National Battlefield [MD]

Description

The Monocacy National Battlefield commemorates a Civil War battle fought 9 July, 1864, between the troops of Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and Union General Lew Wallace. The Battle of Monocacy, or "The Battle that Saved D.C.," prevented Early from completing his campaign to relieve pressure from General Robert E. Lee and to capture Washington, D.C. Although the Confederates won the battle, the time lost permitted the Union to send reinforcements to the capital. The battle aside, Native Americans have been present in the area since the earliest human occupation of North America, nearly 10,000 years ago; and European explorers and traders arrived in the region in the early 1700s.

The park offers a self-guided six mile auto tour, a number of self-guided interpretive walking trails, exhibits, an introductory audio-visual presentation, guided tours, in-classroom speakers, and traveling trunks.

Fort Scott National Historic Site [KS]

Description

Fort Scott National Historic Site presents resources related to the opening of the West, the Permanent Indian Frontier, the Mexican American War, Bleeding Kansas, the Civil War, and the expansion of railroads. The site consists of 20 historic structures (11 open to the public), three separate exhibit areas, 31 rooms furnished as they might have been in the 1840s, a parade ground, and five acres of restored tallgrass prairie. The fort was established in 1842 to protect the Permanent Indian Frontier and housed soldiers until 1853, after which point it became the nucleus of a growing town. The site focuses on the years between 1842 and 1873.

The site offers a 12-minute audiovisual orientation; exhibits; guided and self-guided tours for school groups; exhibits; in-classroom speakers; and on-site educational programs for school groups, including self-guided scavenger and history hunts (available online), interpreters in period dress, interactive activities, pre- and post-visit materials (available online), student roleplaying, and plays.

Andersonville National Historic Site [GA]

Description

The Andersonville National Historic Site has a three-fold mission—namely, operation of the National Prisoner of War Museum; care of the Andersonville National Cemetery; and preservation of Camp Sumter, also known as Andersonville prison. Camp Sumter was among the largest Civil War prisons established by the Confederacy, and housed more than 32,000 Union soldiers in 1864. At that time, more than 100 men died on an average day in the camp. The National Prisoner of War Museum honors the U.S. men and women who have suffered as prisoners of war. The Andersonville National Cemetery originally served as the burial grounds of Union soldiers who died in Camp Sumter. Today, the cemetery is an active site for veteran burials.

The site offers a curriculum-based educational program for students, educational resource packages for rental, a 3-mile self-guided hike with a questionnaire, Junior Ranger activities, exhibits, and a summer camp. The educational program focuses on the prison at Camp Sumter; and meets Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama educational standards. The educational program must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park [WV]

Description

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park presents living history interpretations of past area events and daily life. Harpers Ferry events include the 1859 John Brown's Raid, constant Civil War action, the Niagara Movement's second conference, military industrialization, and the convergence of two railroads and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal circa 1835.

The park offers exhibits, trails, guided tours, self-guided tours, self-guided educational hikes and scavenger hunts, guided educational programs which meet state educational standards, educator workshops, Junior Ranger activities, and picnic areas. The website offers historic photographs, curricula, and a lesson plan.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park [KY]

Description

The 20,000-acre Cumberland Gap National Historical Park preserves the site of the original "gateway to the west" used by settlers and pioneers. Native American populations had used this gap to cross the mountains for centuries prior to the arrival of European Americans. However, Daniel Boone (1734-1820) opened the Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap to these settlers in 1775. Sites of historical note include a historical iron furnace, the 1904 Hensley Settlement, and fortifications dating to the Civil War.

The park offers two introductory films, interactive exhibits, an educational activity area for children, Appalachian craft demonstrations, two-hour cave tours, three-and-a-half- or four-hour settlement tours, Junior Ranger activities, and picnic sites. Please note that if you are interested in the cave tour, the National Park Service requests that you do not wear clothing that you have worn to another cave. This is an effort to avoid spreading White-Nose Syndrome, a condition which has caused the death of countless bats. Even if you personally fear or dislike these creatures, please remember that they are an important part of their (and our) ecosystems.

Antietam National Battlefield [MD]

Description

The Antietam National Battlefield preserves the site of the September 17, 1862 Battle of Antietam. This battle effectively halted the Confederate Army's first invasion of the North, and prompted the issuance of a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. It is best known for being the United States' single-largest military loss of life in one day. The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is located on the battlefield grounds. This museum presents Civil War medicine and the history of the house itself, which served as Union General George B. McClellan's temporary headquarters.

The battlefield offers a 26-minute introductory film, a one-hour documentary, exhibits, talks, guided walks, eight curriculum-based programs, a self-guided 8.5 mile auto tour, guided auto tours, Junior Ranger activities, hiking trails, and outdoor activities. Reservations are required for guided auto tours. The website offers a scavenger hunt for use on site, historic images, a video on the artillery used at the Battle of Antietam, teacher's guides, a primary resource packet, and worksheets.

Callie House: My Face is Black is True

Description

Professor Mary Frances Berry reviews the life of Callie House, an ex-slave and civil rights activist in the late 1800s and early 1900s who started the Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association, which sought African-American pensions based on those offered Union soldiers. Berry presents House as a forerunner of figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Her presentation includes a question-and-answer session.

Audio and video options are available.

Nature of Sacrifice: Biography of Charles Russsell Lowell, Jr. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2008 - 14:03
Description

Writer Carol Bundy talks about the life of her great-great-great uncle, Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., a Boston abolitionist and industrialist eventually killed in the Civil War. The presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available.