Hook, Line and Sinker,

[JerseyBart]

Whether it be in school, at home, reading, visual, active etc what is and should be done to get the next generation interested in The Civil War? What have you been involved in, want to be involved in and/or witnessed?

From this week in Gettysburg: two school groups taking Pickett, Pettigrew and Trimble's Charge. They obviously loved it. Then boom! Opportunity to tell the real story. A school charging a cannon by the Peace Memorial and kids climbing in and around Devil's Den. Let them play and then teach them up.

 

[JerseyBart]

My daughter is four months old. As of this weekend, she's been to Gettysburg. Make trips to battlefields part of a child's regular calendar and hopefully it becomes normal, expected and anticipated. Obviously, do things prior to make the trip anticipated.

 

[Nathanb1]

It wasn't the Civil War...but the seventh graders went out to "measure the Alamo" on the football field. You see, the compound was about the equivalent of two six-man fields (80 yards)....and the wall was the same height as our bleachers. This year I had one of the girls who does 4-H shooting stand on the top and mimic loading and firing a black powder rifle (which she's actually done) while 3 of the boys "scaled the wall" and climbed up the back. Most of the kids thought she'd "shoot" them....nope. She got one, and while she was reloading, two more climbed up and one "got" her.

Sobering for them. 187 men and a 500 yard stretch to defend. Where you gonna put 'em?

I'm sure it would work nicely for some Civil War thing....

 

[JerseyBart]

It wasn't the Civil War...but the seventh graders went out to "measure the Alamo" on the football field. You see, the compound was about the equivalent of two six-man fields (80 yards)....and the wall was the same height as our bleachers. This year I had one of the girls who does 4-H shooting stand on the top and mimic loading and firing a black powder rifle (which she's actually done) while 3 of the boys "scaled the wall" and climbed up the back. Most of the kids thought she'd "shoot" them....nope. She got one, and while she was reloading, two more climbed up and one "got" her.

Sobering for them. 187 men and a 500 yard stretch to defend. Where you gonna put 'em?

I'm sure it would work nicely for some Civil War thing....

Line up 247 against a brigade, tell them to run at the brigade and keep the brigade from getting behind them for 5 minutes. It's different, but it'll get the point across.