Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2015 i Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children

COBBLESTONE’s pages have been filled with many Civil War themes, from famous generals to pivotal battlefields as well as looks at the more general roles played by navies, cavalries, women, and children. In this month’s issue, we explore the lesser-known (but worthy of noting) stories about the war. Perhaps after you’ve met Joshua L. Chamberlain, Robert Smalls, Tillie Pierce, and Mary Edwards Walker in these pages, you’ll be curious to do a little searching on your own to see what other stories are waiting to be discovered and shared.…

Civil War Poem After years of disagreements, the South decided to split by breaking from the North and calling the Union quits. When Lincoln was elected president, he didn’t want to fight. But he believed in the Union and was prepared to do what was right. Both sides firmly believed that the war would not be long. But it lasted for four years, proving both sides wrong. Today these places are famous—Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Petersburg—and lots of people visit them. It’s good to keep those places preserved and their places in history alive because to make our country a better place more than 620,000 people died. Rachel, age 12 Richmond, Virginia Angel Island Revolutionary War Women Man-Made Marvels Write to us! Draw a picture or…

Thaddeus S.C. Lowe wanted to be the first person to fly in a balloon across the Atlantic Ocean. He had built his own balloon, called the Enterprise, but he knew he had to make an overland run to test wind currents before he attempted to sail across the ocean. He decided to start the test run in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then fly his balloon back to the East Coast. On April 19, 1861, the people of Cincinnati held a banquet in Lowe’s honor. It was an exciting occasion. There was much discussion not only about Lowe and his flight but also about the growing problems between the North and the South. Earlier that month, rebels had fired on the Union garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina! People wondered…

Scouts knew how to read for clues along a trail. If the ground was grass-covered or soft, hoof prints left impressions and bent the grass. The combined weight of a horse carrying a man would leave a clear mark in the ground. If the route was through rocky ground, detecting and following the route, while not impossible, became difficult. Scouts looked for overturned rocks or broken branches—any evidence of a path that had been disturbed. Signs of horses grazing or eating along a route or animal waste left behind also provided clues. When tracking riders on horseback, scouts needed to know what gait the horses were using—walking, trotting, or galloping. Understanding how fast the horses were traveling helped trackers determine if and when they could overtake them. They could also…

Women and girls of all ages worked as spies during the Civil War. Historians believe that more than 1,000 females in the North and the South may have been involved in espionage. Most women became spies because they wanted to help their side win the war. Spying during the Civil War, as it is during any major conflict, was dangerous work. If a spy was captured, she risked being sent to prison. While women spies were not hanged, they were threatened with that punishment. Yet women spies often were successful in completing their missions. They had several advantages over their male counterparts. Early in the war, Union and Confederate soldiers did not expect females to engage in espionage. Consequently, soldiers allowed women and girls to travel across Union and Confederate…

Imagine writing a novel so powerful that it changes millions of people’s minds. Some historians consider this month’s mystery hero’s novel to be one of the causes of our Civil War. Her book moved even Britain’s Queen Victoria, who supposedly wept while reading it. Our mystery hero was one of 11 children in a remarkable family. They lived in a busy home that was filled with lots of chores, games, and conversation. Religion had a central role in the family—all seven of our hero’s brothers became ministers. Education was also important. Our hero’s schooling was unique for its time. First, she received formal instruction. Rather than simply encouraging girls to learn how to sew and do needlework, our hero’s school taught girls classical literature and academic subjects. Traditionally, those subjects…

Mary Edwards Walker was an unusual woman for her time. Born on November 26, 1832, in Oswego, New York, she grew up in a “forward-thinking” family who opposed slavery and who believed that education was important for girls. They also believed in a less-restrictive style of dress for women. In the 1800s, women wore corsets and long, heavy dresses with high collars. Mary’s family believed that the style was binding, uncomfortable, and “unhealthy.” Young Mary was one of the first females to wear bloomers under a knee-length skirt, and she later wore a pair of pants at her wedding. Her style of dress shocked people, but as an adult she argued that her outfit gave her “freedom of motion and circulation,” which was necessary in her line of work. In…

Anew way to wage war developed in the mid-19th century. It was called “total war.” It involved not just trained troops fighting in pitched battles, but also civilians and their property. In a total war, armies sometimes attacked people on the home front, and citizens sometimes picked up guns and engaged in the conflict as guerrillas or spies. This made the Civil War confusing. How should soldiers, who were sometimes neighbors and at other times enemies, treat one another? The situation troubled President Abraham Lincoln. In 1862, he asked a German-born American lawyer and history professor named Francis Lieber to come up with guidelines for officers in the Union army. Lieber understood the dilemmas of the new kind of war. He was an older man who had fought in the…

Years after the Civil War ended, Joshua L. Chamberlain wrote, “In great deeds something abides.” And while he is best remembered for his bravery during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, Chamberlain accomplished a number of great deeds during his lifetime. Born in Brewer, Maine, in 1828, Chamberlain was the eldest of five children. He worked on his father’s farm and did some teaching at the local school. Learning languages came easily to him. He taught himself Greek so that he could enroll in Bowdoin College, where he focused on the classics. After studying at the Bangor Theological Seminary, he returned to Bowdoin in 1855 as a professor. He taught almost every subject there except for science and math. Chamberlain came from a family of men who had served their…

William H. Carney began life as a slave in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1840. But he died a hero of the Civil War in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1908. State officials and dignitaries attended his funeral, and the flags in the state were ordered flown at half-mast as a sign of respect. It is believed that Carney escaped from slavery by following in his father’s footsteps and traveling on the Underground Railroad to Massachusetts. When the call was put out to raise an all-black regiment to fight in the Civil War, 23-year-old Carney responded by joining the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in March 1863. Not everyone was confident that African Americans could make good soldiers, but by May, the unit was on its way to South Carolina. The 54th fought in…

During the Civil War, foreign soldiers and commanders were prized by the Union and Confederate armies because they had experience fighting in European wars and were more professional compared with American armies. A Russian Recruit Peter Petroff had barely stepped off the boat from St. Petersburg, Russia, when he was recruited by the Union army and joined the 14th U.S. Infantry. His commanders were so impressed by his actions and dedication as a soldier that he was almost immediately promoted to corporal, despite the fact that he did not speak any English. While fighting in an area known as the Wilderness, Petroff was injured in the left arm, which had to be amputated. Petroff survived the war and became one of the leading people in the veterans’ organization the Grand…

The Civil War Trust was created to help protect the physical places where Civil War events took place, and Civil War sites are great to visit in person if you can. If you can’t get to an actual location, check out the trust’s Web site (www.civilwar.org). You’ll be amazed at what you can find there. They’ve got battlefield maps, battlefield summaries, historic and contemporary photos, book recommendations, videos, articles, and contests. The Colonel and I watched an animated map video that shows how the three-day Battle of Gettysburg played out—it was awesome! The site also offers panoramic views of several major battles. There’s a wealth of material and information at the trust’s site—for people just beginning to be curious about understanding the Civil War as well as for seasoned historians…