University of Virginia Library

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.