Letter From April 1865 Based on the Record

Use the turning points organizer as an overview, then the two sheets on Black soldiers together. Save the April 1865 letter for the end, when students know the war's events.

Write a May 1865 letter as a Union soldier or freedperson with facts from Appomattox on. The directions on the page read: Read the four fact cards. Choose to write as a Union soldier or a freedperson, and name the relative you are writing to. Then fill in the chart with four facts and your writer's reaction to each. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade the Civil War, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9. Lincoln gave his last public speech on April 11 and was shot at Ford's Theatre on April 14, dying the next morning.

It was one of the first Black regiments raised in the North and led an attack on Fort Wagner in July 1863. Its men also refused pay at the lower rate given to Black soldiers until Congress granted equal pay in 1864.

General Winfield Scott planned to squeeze the South by blockading its ports and controlling the Mississippi River. The blockade began in April 1861 and made it harder for the South to trade cotton for supplies.