Encounters with Historic Places: Gettsyburg

As our foot meets the earth and you feel the gravel scrape and grind against one another, hear the dry grass break and splinter, or feel your shoe sink into the oozing mud of the saturated ground then and only then do you know in some small way what it was like to be there. Where is there? “There,” can be the Oregon Trail ruts found in Northeast Kansas. “There,” can be the street that Elizabeth Eckford walked as she tried desperately to escape the hateful jeers of an angry mob. And “there,” can be a student walking up a path to the top of Little Round Top where the 20^th Maine defended their portion of the Union at the battle of Gettysburg.

The battle of Gettysburg though not readily accessible for my students it is a site that offers many interesting and insightful teachable moments for students. As I read this text I found it interesting that the first chapter dealt with a medium of communication could allow my student sitting in Kansas to experience in some small way the battle that changed the course of a war and inevitably a nation. Through the use of a virtual tour students from across the nation might be able more easily access this site and all it has to offer. Using this site and others allows students to get out of the classroom and get into history. As James M. McPherson states in his chapter on Gettysburg from the book American Places: Encounters with History edited by William E. Luechtenburg “The best way to understand those battles is to walk the ground where they happened.” and he is correct the doing of history is better for students than the reading alone of history. Even if that walk comes in the form of a virtual walk understanding will only enhance the reading that takes place in the classroom.

Standard Addressed:

Kansas, United States, and World History Eighth Grade

History Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, events, eras, and developments in the history of Kansas, the United States, and the world, utilizing essential analytical and research skills.

Benchmark 2: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of individuals, groups, ideas, developments, and the causes and effects of the Civil War.

5.▲(K) describes the turning points of the Civil War (e.g., Antietam, Gettysburg, Emancipation Proclamation, and Sherman’s March to the Sea).

photo credit: National Park Service (Richard Frear)