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The QR code leading to the battle
information on the Chattanooga
Campaign. |
To learn about the Civil War battles throughout the course of history, our class did a scavenger hunt. This lesson had two essential questions: Who was the ultimate victor in each the theaters of war: East West, and Naval, and what are some commonalities you can identify in the reasons for the results of the battles? Each student (with a few pairs) received a battle to research and create a short summary of, including the theater, who won, and the reasons why. My battle, the Chattanooga Campaign, can be found
here. Each battle then created a
bit.ly link and corresponding QR code. Each battle was posted in different spots around the school with the QR code ready for scanning, including the battle information and directions to the next sign. Everyone, equipped with devices, went around taking notes on each battle. Afterwards, we examined
this map here which gives many examples of Civil War battles. We then used a Padlet to post our thoughts on who ultimately won in each theater of war. The Padlet is down below.
The North definitively won both the west and naval theaters, but the east theater was a little more back and forth. In the West, the confederacy lacked the supplies to win much, giving the Union the advantage. On the sea, the Union had better equipment and stronger troops, while the confederacy had mishaps like blowing up their own ship. At the beginning, poor leadership in the North gave the South an edge in the East. But after the North took the Mississippi River, splitting the South, and changed leadership from weaker generals like McClellan to strong leaders like Grant and Sherman, the North began to win.
