INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS
THE problem of the use of sources in the grammar
schools has been stated in the introductions to the preceding
volumes of this series, and need not be here repeated. The book has
been prepared in the belief that the child of the grammar grades is as
capable of finding pleasure in the presence of the realities of history, and
stands in as much need of the intellectual alertness that
comes from acquaintance with unbiassed statements of
fact, as the more mature student.
The higher age of the pupils who will use this book
and the nature of the subject, have made possible some
differences between this volume and those that precede
it. In the first place, fewer changes have been made in
the selections; the authors are more nearly contemporary,
and their style needs little or no change to make it comprehensible,
so that omissions have been made chiefly for
the sake of brevity; further, children of say twelve years
old can easily look up for themselves such words and
phrases as they do not at once understand.
In the second place, this volume deals with a field that
is at once extensive and compact. The first and the third
volumes dealt with two periods of development,— of discovery
and colonization, and of readjustment and growth
after the Revolution. Like Volume II, on the War for
Independence, Volume IV has the definite subject of the
Civil War; but the field is broader, and there is more
need of making clear the experiences of both sides to the
controversy.
The third difference is the stress laid on personality.
A close personal relation may very possibly be found to
exist between the authors and the readers, for many of
the pieces were written by slave-holders, slaves, poor
whites, abolitionists, journalists, novelists, poets, teachers,
generals, privates, troopers, midshipmen, rear-admirals,
Southern women, Northern nurses, surgeons, and chaplains, some of whom
are alive now and perhaps known to the children who use the book. Personality stands out
clearly also, because many of the authors are men and
women whose names and faces are familiar in every home
in America, names such as Grant, Lee, Sherman, Farragut,
Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Louisa May Alcott. Again,
many of the selections are direct character sketches, and
reveal an intimate knowledge of such men as John Brown
(No. 17), John Morgan (No. 33), General Lee (No. 48), and
John Ericsson (No. go); while others, indirectly, by suggestion, portray
such well-known people as "Jeb "Stuart
(Nos. 35, 61) and Grant (Nos. 44, 47, 66).
The book makes no attempt to give any continued narrative
of the war; events are not mentioned exactly in
their sequence ; many important battles are not described;
no stress is laid on the political conditions at work outside
of the army. The Reader tells merely the romance, sad
or joyful as the case may be, that hung over the war, and
by detached incidents, some descriptive, some narrative,
endeavors to bring out the personality of the men and
women who took part in the struggle.
The plan of the Reader is to furnish both descriptive
and narrative pieces arranged as follow Part 1, On the
Plantation, treats of slave life before the war; it shows
Southern economic conditions, some good, some bad,
some with much to be said on both sides. Part II, The
Underground Railroad and the Contraband. describes
scenes that actually took place in the attempt to free the
negro, and pictures the ultimate result of the effort, Part
III, In and Out of the Army, describes enlistment, encampment,
and transportation. Part IV, Boy Soldiers
and Sailors, shows what responsibilities were given to
children forty years ago, and the conditions under which
our fathers spent their boyhood. Parts V and VI, In
Camp and on the March, and Under Fire, bring the
reader into the actual presence of war about as the average
soldier saw it. Part VII, On Deck, recalls the importance of the Union fleet during the entire war.
Part VIII, Women and the War, tells of the devotion and sacrifices
of women, both North and South, and gives an idea of the
conditions endured by non-combatants on both sides.
By putting together pieces which are perhaps not
consecutively printed, the teacher may make out many special
topics and subdivisions. On slavery, for example, the
Southern view is given by the cheerful picture in H
Days on the Plantation (No. 1), in the Experience of a
Governess in a Southern Planter's House (No. 3), and in
two descriptions by a Southern journalist, A Pompous Old
Negro, and A Slave Auction (Nos. 10, 11). The Northern
view is shown in the two selections from "Uncle Tom's
Cabin "(Nos.'°", 6); in a poor white's Opinion of Slavery
(No. 9), and indirectly in such incidents as that of the
Quick-witted Negro (No. 20). The slave's own view is
shown in Charity Bowery's narrative (No. 2), and in the
scenes of misery and hopelessness described by a news-paper correspondent (Nos. 22, 23).
It is important also to bring out the direct relations of
the North with the slaves. The workings of the Underground
Railroad are vividly described by a Cincinnati
operator (No. 12), and show the discomforts and dangers
that attended these movements. Two of the most notable
escapes, managed by a colored woman, Harriet Tubman,
are told in No. 14; and the rescue of a colored man named
Jerry (No. 15) shows the height to which popular excitement
rose; the service of the negroes in the ranks is
described in No. 86, and the outside help which the
negroes constantly gave the Yankees in No. 85.
Although no attempt is made to give a list of battles, it
must not be forgotten that fighting is the natural end and
aim of war; and the teacher may find it expedient to
group under one topic the dismay of the terrible rout at
Bull Run (NO. 76), the dramatic scene in Hampton Roads,
when the little Monitor established the supremacy of the
Union fleet (No. 9j), Keenan's spirited charge at Chancellorsville
(No. 81), the awful crisis of Gettysburg, told
in stately verse (No. 84), and the manœuvres at Chickamauga
(No. 87).
The technicalities of naval warfare are brought out in
several selections, and picture maps might be drawn to
show the manœuvres described in such actions as the
fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac (No. 9x),
Chasing a Blockade Runner (No. 92), Sinking the Tecumseh
(No. 93), Running the Batteries on the Mississippi River
(Nos. 94, 96), the Escape of the Sumter (No. 95), and the
Sinking of the 41benzarle (No. 98).
The average personal experience of a private might be
worked out by studying the conditions of his enlistment
and transportation to the seat of war (Nos-30, 31), his
housing and the way in which he spent his spare time
(No. 58), his food (No. 59), a sudden order to march
(Nos. 34, 60), the encampment before the battle (No. 71),
the sudden plunge into the fight (Nos-74, 80), and the
care taken of him at the hospital (No. 105).
Many of the selections will hold the interest of the
pupils simply as stories to be read in quiet hours. Every
boy will thrill at the daring and subtlety of the scout in
Nos. 36 and 37, and will glow with enthusiasm over the
Cavalry Raid (No. 79); while Mrs. Pickard's story of the
kidnapped children (Nos. 4, 7, 8) will appeal to every child
who is moved by the misfortunes of mankind.
The work of women during the war must not be forgotten,
and Mrs. Livermore's account of a single day at
the rooms of the Sanitary Commission (No. 99) will give
some idea of the amount of organization, skill, patience,
hard work, and expert aid necessary to maintain a national
army in the field and to care for the sick and wounded.
Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton (Nos, 104, 109) are
but two of the devoted women 'who had the strength,
energy, and courage necessary to care for those who gave
life and limb for their country.
The sufferings of the Southern women about whose
homes the struggle took place are told by Mrs. Eliza
Ripley (Nos. 101, 107), and no writer has yet surpassed
the unknown Southern Lady who describes the woes un-speakable of the besieged at Vicksburg (Nos. 55, 82, 83)-The work of women for the colored race began after the
war was over, and some of the difficulties are described
by a teacher in Nos. 19, 24, 25, and 26.
A large part of our national poetry has centred about
the Civil War, and nearly all the poets are represented in
this volume. The Battle Hymn of the Republic (No. x8),
The Cavalry Charge (No. 75), Barbara Frietchie (No. 106),
and 0 Captain! My Captain (No. 88) are poems that
every American child should know by heart. Keenan's
Charge (No. 81) and Sheridan's Ride (No. 73) are spirited,
and show the vigor with which our fathers rhymed
their sentiments. The three war songs given in No. 70
are everywhere familiar, and may well be sung anew.
This list of topics is not meant to be exhaustive; it
is simply a suggestion of what may be done in the way
of making the book both profitable and enjoyable. The
Civil War is too near and too partisan for this generation
to have any one authoritative opinion about it; and this
volume is sent forth with the hope that even pupils of say
the ninth grade may come to add some of the human
experiences of our fathers to the narratives of history.
ELIZABETH STEVENS.
