Teens of the Civil War

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: How can teens help their nation in times of war?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article. Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• predominately (p. 18)
• indispensable (p. 18)
• refuge (p. 19)
• integral (p. 20)
• morale (p. 21)
• recounted (p. 21)

3. Engage
Ask: Why do you think teens would have wanted to risk their lives to take part in the Civil War? Revisit this discussion after the lesson, having students share new insights they’ve gained.

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about teens who took part in the Civil War. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions and ask students to cite text evidence when answering them:

• The writer explains that teens wanted to join the Civil War effort for a variety of reasons. Why did Theodore Upson want to join the war effort? Why did Andrew Jackson Smith want to join? (Theodore Upson was an abolitionist who joined because he cared deeply about ending slavery. Andrew Jackson Smith joined to help win his own freedom. He was an enslaved teen who sought refuge with a Union regiment in Kentucky after his White father tried to force him to join the Confederate Army.)

• What do Lizzie Compton’s and Susie King Taylor’s stories have in common? How is Taylor’s story different from Compton’s? (Lizzie Compton and Susie King Taylor were both women who joined the war effort and rebelled against the societal limitations placed upon them. Lizzie pretended to be a man to fight, which was illegal for women, and Susie got an education, which was illegal for Black people. Their stories are different because Susie was enslaved and served to help win her own freedom.)

• Which teens featured in the article earned the Medal of Honor? How did they earn their medals? (Andrew Jackson Smith earned the medal by taking up his unit’s flag under enemy fire, after the color bearer was killed. John Cook, a bugler, earned the medal by operating a cannon after the original operator was killed, even though Confederate troops were within 15 feet of him.)

• The article includes first-person accounts from multiple teens. What are some ideas that their accounts convey about the Civil War? (Some teens, like Theodore Upson, John Cook, and William Bircher talk about seeing death and violence. Others, like Emma LeConte and William Bayley, try to ignore the war and focus on other things. Frances Caldern de la Barca Hunt talks about the disruption of normal life.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF ’We All Shall Be Free,’ which features an excerpt from the memoir written by Susie King Taylor, an enslaved teen who served as a nurse during the Civil War. Discuss what makes the excerpt a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of this excerpt from Taylor’s memoir? (The tone can be described as formal. The purpose is to inform the reader about the events of her childhood, how she was educated, and how she ended up in Union territory.)

• Which details indicate that Taylor’s education was illegal? (Some details include the fact that Taylor had to cover her books to hide them from White people and the police. She didn’t go a formal school, and she was taught by anyone who agreed to teach her.)

• Taylor describes passes she wrote for her grandmother. From her description, what can you infer about what life was like for Black people in Savannah at the time? (From this section, the reader can infer that neither freed nor enslaved Black people were allowed to move freely within the community and that, even though they were freed, Black people were under the strict control of White people.)

• According to Taylor, how did White people in Savannah feel about the “Yankees” and why? How did Black people feel about them? How did each group demonstrate how it felt? (White people in Savannah disliked and distrusted the “Yankees” because they thought the Yankees would encourage slaves to join them. Black people, according to Taylor, thought the Yankees were “wonderful” because they were fighting for the freedom of enslaved people. White people showed how they felt by making up lies about Yankees to scare slaves. Black people sang hymns about becoming free.)

• How does Taylor’s memoir support and expand upon what you learned about her life in the Upfront article? (Students’ answers may vary but their answers should be supported with details from both texts. They may note that Taylor had to change teachers many times, or that when she fled, she was excited to meet “Yankees,” etc.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research another teen who contributed to the Civil War. Write a profile about that person, citing details from your research. If applicable, include quotes from that person’s diary or biography. 

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Select a teen from the article who wasn’t awarded a Medal of Honor. Should he or she have received one? 

9. Book Club
Assign additional sections of Taylor’s memoir (available online at Project Gutenberg) to groups of students. Have each group discuss what their assigned section reveals about the author, the Civil War, and life at the time. Then have groups present their findings to the class.