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Civil War Personalities significant to LaGrange, Troup County, and Georgia_SI 1


Harriet Blakely


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After students have studied the causes and effects of the Civil War,  they will go a step further to focus on local history.  Students will appreciate their heritage and the history of the Civil War Era through studying local documents and information found about the people of Troup County and Georgia.  Each student will research documents pertaining to an individual who lived during that era and will write and perform a first person monologue on that personality. 

(Teachers note:  In order to complete this lesson, students will need to visit their local archives and/or library. Also, an extensive list of resources is included in the Notes section of the lesson plan.)



3 - 4 Class Periods


1


How do the lives of local personalities inform us about the Civil War?


The students will complete a word search with names of significant people who lived in or visited LaGrange and/or Troup County during the Civil War Era.


The teacher (or guest performer) will dress in period costume and take on the roleof a person who lived during the time of the Civil War, presenting a monologue to the class. (In Troup County, this guest performer could be student, Megan Sharp, who will present her 2005 History Day monologue on the children of the Civil War.)



Students will present performance of a first person monologue.  A video of the final presentations will be made.  Students will complete peer evaluations and self-evaluations.   Teacher will evaluate using the “Original Monologue Critique.” (See Linked Files for student and teacher critiques.)


Supplemental Notes: Even for able readers it is anticipated that students will require a great deal of guidance from the teacher.  I have chosen documents that are more readable for 4th graders, and I will be available to assist as much as possible.   These students will be studying or will have already studied the Civil War in their regular classroom.  Through this lesson they will be expanding on their knowledge by focusing on the war and its effects in their community.To further expand our study, a walking field trip of LaGrange, incorporating a study of the architecture of the period, will enhance student appreciation of our town.  I would also like to include a short trip to the cemetery sites if possible.

Document/s with Headings

(The following items are available for research from the Troup County Archives.)

 Bacon Family Letters (1852 – 1871).  Collection contains photocopy transcriptions of letters of Sarah Holcombe Bacon during the Civil War as well as diaries of Augustus Octavius Bacon, soldier. [Available from Troup County Archives.]             Battle of West Point, April 16 1865 edited by Eleanor D. Scott and Carl Summers, Jr. (1997).  Contains accounts of the Battle by Confederate and Union soldiers and local citizens, especially women. [Book]             “Battle of West Point,” by Earl Edwards.  West Point on the Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society, Bulletin 3, November 1957. [Journal] Bridging Deep South Rivers, the Life and Legend of Horace King, by Lupold, John S. And Thomas L. French, Jr. University of Press, 2004.  King began life as a slave, received no formal training, but succeeded in serving in the Alabama legislature and building bridges, warehouses, courthouses, factories and houses in the South.  [Book]  See also King Family Papers [Vertical File]             Civil War Diary of Cyrus F. Jenkins.  Linda Boggus Donaldson, editor.  Jenkins was a member of Co. B, 13thRegiment, Volunteer Infantry, from July 8, 1861 until his death at Spotsylvania, May 1864.  Vivid images of the War.  [Manuscript collection – contains primary documents]       Nancy Harts Folder.  Information about the forty women who organized between 1861-1863 to defend LaGrange.  Contains newspaper clippings, recollections by one of its members, and copies of articles.  [Vertical File, See also Manuscript – 100 Nancy Harts Collection] Senator Benjamin H. Hill of Georgia, His Life, Speeches and Writings by Benjamin H. Hill, Jr., published 1892.  Contains a biography of Senator Hill and copies of speeches (1860-1881) and writings (1856-1882).  [Book contains primary documents.] Treasures of Troup County:  A pictorial History by Glenda Major and F. Clark Johnson, III, contains 264 pages and over 500 maps and photos that covers the history of the county from 1827 to the present.              Troup County Historical Society Newsletter, 5:2 (1987).  The entire newsletter is devoted to the Civil War and provides a good overview of Troup County in the conflict. [Vertical File]             “West Point, Battle of” Contains various articles about the battle and the flag that flew over Fort Tyler.  Also contains an article by Col. Fannin, “How the Battle of West Point Was Fought after Lee’s Surrender,” Atlanta Journal, 1869. [Vertical File-w] 

Histories of LaGrange and Troup County, , Vols. I and III, by Forrest Clark Johnson, III, 1987. pp. 65-82.           

Summer Institute Civil War Notebook, 2005 [TAH Notebook (II.1.a.) and (VI.3a (1)]     

Photograph:  Pvt. Wiliam Mobley [TAH Notebook (III. 3.a)] and William Mobley letter, October 1861, Fairfax, Virginia; Transcription (III. 3. b-c)        

Handouts with Explanations for Use  1.  Word Find Puzzle – (2 sheets) To be placed on student work area ready for students to begin when they are seated.  It will serve as an introduction to the lesson as well as a bell ringer. 2. Civil War Pretest – To be given after the class discussion and KWL exercise on the board. 3.  Original Monologue Critique – To be given to and read with the students before they begin their work on their monologue.  Teacher will keep a copy for each student to evaluate final performance.  4.& 5. Peer Critique and Self Critique (I will copy one on the front and one on the back) – To be given to students after the final performance of their monologues.


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Original Monologue Critique_SI 1 _ H Blakely
Civil War_Word Search Puzzle_SI 1_ H Blakely
Civil War_Self Critique_SI 1_H Blakely
Civil War_KWL_SI 1_H Blakely
Civil War Words_For Word Search_SI 1_ H Blakely
Civil War PreTest_SI 1_H Blakely

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