Gettysburg

The 5th and 6th grade classes studied the Civil War for a couple of months this year.  So, what better way to wrap up the lesson than with a trip to the most famous and important battleground of the Civil War... Gettysburg!

We started off by taking a bus tour through the town and battlefield areas.  Our guide pointed out some really neat things such as a house that had painted white over each bullet hole so that you could see them; the house that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address in; and the house where the only civilian to die during the battle succumbed to a gun shot wound. (The civilian's name was Jennie Wade. She was kneading dough to make bread for the Union soldiers when a Confederate bullet came through the door of her sister's house and struck her).

Our guide stopped the bus a few times so that we could get off and get a closer look at some monuments and canons.

Then we practiced marching like a unit of soldiers...

 My favorite part of the day was climbing to the top of Little Round Top, which is one of the most significant locations on the battlefield.  This was where the Union soldiers, led by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, charged downhill toward Confederate soldiers with only their bayonets.

The view from the top of Little Round Top

Our tour guide talking to the kids about the battle on Little Round Top

After our bus tour it was time for a Ranger program activity.  During this activity the kids learned how to march together, take commands from their leader, and prepare their weapons for battle.

Here are the soldiers preparing for battle

We all had a lot of fun, but there was a bus fully of sleepy kids coming home.  Guess all that marching wore them out!