Civil War Day

What

Civil War Day

When

3/21/2014, 8:00 AM – 2:50 PM

Where

Front Courtyard

Friday, 21 March, a small group of volunteers from the American Civil War Society will return to HMS for the second year. The gentlemen will arrive to our campus early in the morning in order to set up their “camp” in time to meet the day’s first Social Studies class, whose visit will begin at 8:30. Each 8th grade Social Studies class will spend time at the camp; however, all HMS students are invited to visit during snack break and lunchtime. The gentlemen will set up “camp” on the courtyard outside the Huntington School office, and spend the day meeting with 8th grade Social Studies students, all of whom are studying the Civil War, in alignment with the Core Curriculum, as outlined in the California “History-Social Studies Framework” and the State of California Content Standards for History-Social Science.

The Core Curriculum, the State Framework, and the State Standards outline what students should learn about history. But the study of history includes more than just learning what happened; it is also being able to critically examine historical evidence, to compare conflicting historical accounts, and to weigh the meaning of past events for the present. The C3 Framework (College, Career, and Civic Life) focuses on inquiry. To that end, Civil War Day, will allow students to move beyond the textbooks so that they may examine, for themselves traces of history, artifacts, and other primary sources. Asking questions, listening, and looking, is a thoughtful process that supports students to think critically about the meaning and significance of historical evidence.

General Grant, commander-in-chief of the Union forces will be on site, as will a Union corporal, and a Confederate calvary soldier. General Grant will provide insights as to his experiences, including strategies implemented at particular battles, his personal story, and the strengths and weaknesses of both the Union and Confederate sides.

Our visiting corporal is an expert on weapons used in the Civil War, both Union and Confederate. He will be bringing his rare collection of Civil War materials, some authentic, and some reproduction. The corporal will instruct and provide answers to any and all questions related to the daily life of a soldier, the weapons supplied to both forces, the materials used to produce those weapons, and the companies that rose to prominence as a result of the manufacture of weapons during the Civil War.

The Confederate calvary soldier will provide balance to our learning, by discussing the Confederate viewpoint from the various aspects of training and the daily life of a soldier, to his perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses for the Union and Confederacy. We’ll learn about the animals, especially horses and donkeys, both of which proved to be of great importance for the South during the Civil War.

We’re expecting a great turnout tomorrow, as visitors from both the San Marino School District Office and the San Marino Police Department stop by to greet our esteemed visitors. In addition, our yearbook staff will be on hand to photograph our event for posterity!

Thank you for your support of this exciting learning opportunity!