Field Trip: Life of a Civil War Union Soldier

We had the chance the other night to join some friends for an evening with a Union Soldier. Last year our kids did an extensive study on the Underground Railroad and the events leading up to the Civil War. Their interest fizzled somewhat on the actual war part. We'll visit that another time.

He told stories of a union private and the kids could have listened for hours!

His cap tells a story too- too much for me to keep up with but it tells which regiment he is from.

He has his gear around him and has considered his pack to be unnecessary. Our speaker became interested in re-enacting while homeschooling his own children. You never know where a hobby will come from!

The kids loved hearing about his gear. He had just come home from an engagement in Winchester, VA. Which led he and I to discuss Harpers Ferry and Antietam via C&O Canal tow path...I spent A LOT of time riding my bike there just after college when I taught school.

I also learned that R10 knows quite a bit about what a drummer's duties were during the war- all the reasons they'd play. One fact we didn't know was that a drummer would keep a record of the regiments movements on the inside of his drum. How about that! So interesting.

What a great evening we all had! R10 is anxious to read two books she learned about Tuesday night. And we have them already in our possession- The Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. The first one is from the journal of John Haley a volunteer from Maine. It has a lot of dry humor and the kids enjoyed hearing snippets that evening. Team of Rivals is a book that was recommended and R told our speaker that surely it was a book she would love. Let's see if this holds true! I picked up the Rebel Yell book yesterday and ordered the audio book (because I couldn't find a print copy). While we were stopped out front waiting for E12 to come out with our book stash, the librarian was on her way in and asked if I really wanted just part 2 of that book. And then she pulled the print copy I couldn't find online so I'll be stopping back today for Team of Rivals. I love our village library!

So R10 is set for a little light summer reading...