87. A Soldier’s Journey

Samples of soldiers’ journals, the culminating project of the Civil War assignment.

One of the staples of the 8th grade curriculum is the soldier’s journal, the culminating assignment of the Civil War assignment. Students find themselves assuming the identity, the fears, hopes, desires, and regimental leaders of a particular soldier who fought in the Civil War. They may find themselves thinking through the lives of a white soldier, a black soldier, or a woman, who long living as a man, decided to join the army, or a woman who followed her husband or brother into battle. Students grapple with motivations that might have prompted a Georgia Lieutenant or a Maine Captain to put their lives on the line.

Knowing only their names and regimental assignments, with a copy of an original photograph in hand, students use the accumulated history they have gained through the assignment, combined with additional research relative to their regiment, to write letters and journal entries to be read by posterity. While the assignments ask for 6–8 pages, the journals more often come in at over 10 pages of heartfelt loss, yearning for home, and questioning of their allegiances.

On the day they submit the journals, often tear stained with the occasional splash of blood (fake!), the students learn the reality of their soldier’s fates. The personal investment in the lives of their men and women is manifest in their faces when they learn what ultimately happened. Suddenly the Civil War has a face and the desire for equity becomes even more personal. History comes alive.
—Catherine Edwards, Eighth Grade Social Studies Teacher