We all know that the Civil War was fought between the Northern States and the Southern states that seceded from the Union.  We know that Abraham Lincoln was the President of the North and Jefferson Davis lead the South.  There were lots of bloody battles and hundreds of thousands of men and boys died. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and finally, the North beat the South to end the war. 

But there is so much more to the story.  There are so many more people involved. Do you know that Preston Brooks, was ready to attack Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over remarks Sumner made slamming senators who supported slavery in Kansas?  Have you heard how female Confederate spies hid coded messages in their long hair and slaves with names like Dangerfield Newby fought for freedom? Students will have a historical overview of the war, which highlights all the key events leading up to the war, from the Fugitive Slave Act to John Brown, the Dred Scott decision, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates, among others, as well as the key events of the war itself. In addition to the traditional study of the Civil War, students will learn about ordinary citizens, as well as lesser-known participants such as Rose O'Neal Greenhow, a Confederate spy known as the Wild Rose of Washington.

Students will also learn about the more famous colorful personalities of the war, who continue to fascinate us, like Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, George McClellan, Ulysses S. Grant, and of course Abraham Lincoln. Students will discuss details about the lives of soldiers, especially how hungry and how poorly outfitted they were. Students will learn about Robert Smalls, a black naval pilot, who took control of the Confederate ship, Planter, and turned it over to the Union, and Harriet Tubman who guided Union ships up the Combahee River and showed the sailors Southern warehouses and plantation houses to destroy. Plus all the battles, important or useless, we will talk about them all.

This is a lecture (storytelling) based class. The class will be taught in a storytelling fashion to help make the material more interesting.   Video, slide show, and readings provided by the teacher will be used to teach the subject matter. Because the class is taught in a storytelling fashion, factoring in the questions of the students and topic discussions by the students it is hard to determine exactly where each class will end. 

The following is a guide of what will be taught in each class, however, some classes may vary a small amount based on student participation and questions.

Class 1:  The 13 steps to starting the Civil War, John Brown, Dred Scoot, Senator Lincoln
Class 2:  Lincoln elected President, Jefferson Davis and the South running scared, a showdown at Fort Sumter, Robert E. Lee, and the Wild Rose of Washington.
Class 3: The Battle of Bull Run, Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan takes charge of the Union Army, Attack of the Floating Barn, General Ulysses S. Grant
Class 4: Two Miserable Presidents: Lincoln and Davis, Fredrick Douglas, Robert Smalls, and lots of issues along the way
Class 5: Yankees, Rebels, and really bad haircuts, tiny sailboats used for trading, deadly diseases worse than getting shot.
Class 6: Gettysburg. John Burns, William C. Oates, Elizabeth Myers, George Pickette, and back to Lincoln.
Class 7: A major turning point in who is winning, Riots in the South, Riots in the North, Harriet Tubman, More than 10,000 battles, prison camps.
Class 8: Fighting in the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Horrors, Waiting for news, Election Day 1864, William T. Sherman, Lincoln looking ahead, more empty stomachs, Appomattox, More than 600,000 dead