"The Civil War and the African American Experience Through Letters" is an engaging, informative, and interactive one-time, 90-minute class that highlights the service of African American men in the Civil War by more closely looking at the means, motives, and messages present in their letters.  This is a wonderful opportunity to cover U.S. history standards, while incorporating oral language, reading comprehension, and writing standards.

Our class kicks off with a brief presentation about the United States Colored Troops and their role in the Civil War. As a group, we will read and analyze one letter written by a soldier in the USCT, paying particular attention to the writing conventions and characteristics of his letter.  Students will then move to the Breakout Room.  Working in small groups, participants will review a virtual soldier's packet that includes a transcribed letter or letters, an image of the original letter (if available), a picture of the soldier or regiment (if available), and any other visual aids that help to formulate each soldier's personal story.  Group members will read the soldier's letter, pair it with the biographical information included, and return to the class to briefly present on their findings.  I will move about each group giving additional information on each soldier that may not be included in the packets (i.e.  their fate after or during their service).

"The Civil War and the African American Experience Through Letters" also covers the guidelines for writing a nineteenth-century letter. Working in small groups in the Breakout Room, students will refer to a soldier's letter and write a short response in the accepted epistolary form.  Students will then have the opportunity to share their letters with the class.  

Additionally, students in this class will have the chance to view Civil War replica writing implements, books, and papers soldiers used to write letters; to learn more about the schools set up in USCT camps for instruction in reading and writing; and to discover how USCT soldiers sent mail and wired money to loved ones during the Civil War. 

"The Civil War and the African American Experience Through Letters" is also an engaging way to more closely look at African American service in the Civil War while gaining a deeper understanding of the letter writing tradition during this period in American history.