Obituary of Abraham Lincoln

Sadly our president, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated by a bullet into his head from John Wilkes Booth, who was actually an actor, on April 14, 1865. He was shot when he was busy watching a play at Ford's Theater with his wife. All our doctors tended to him immediately and took him to a building across the street from the Theater but, the next day he passed away. Lincoln left his wife Mary Todd and his only living child that survived compared to 3 other children.

We will always remember Abe because of him abolish slavery from the United States. If he did not do anything about it, then we would probably still have slaves trapped in shackles stuck in your basement. Although Lincoln was born in poverty as a young boy in Kentucky, he went through all these hardships when he was little but, nothing stopped him from reading or getting further education. When he grew older he went up for elections and finally won, also deciding to start the Civil War. Please all remember his good presidency, long legs, top hat, black suit, and his kind soul.

Glossary

1) Union [Yoon-yun] (Noun)- The North side army fighting in the Civil War against the Confederacy. They wear Navy blue uniforms and also known as "Yankees".

2) Confederate [kun-fed-er-it] (Noun)- The South side army fighting in the Civil War against the Union or also known as "Rebels". They wear Grey uniforms.

3) Musket [muhs-kit] (Noun)- A type of gun used in the 18-19th century.

4) Bayonet [bey-uh-net] (Noun)- A sharp, small point made for attaching to a gun for close up battles.

5) Carcass [kahr-kuhs] (Noun)- A dead body.

6) Pneumonia [noo-mohn-yuh] (Noun)- A type of sickness of the lungs that is caused from bacteria.

Civil War Journal Entry #2

Dear Journal,

I almost got killed in the middle of the battle! It all started when I began marching with my group up a hill somewhere in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1- 4. We were just walking and suddenly far in the distance I spotted a group of men in Grey Uniforms. Once I saw this I was terrified and told Major General George G. Meade immediately. He ordered us to hide behind nearby trees and get ready to fire, at the Confederate soldiers who I later found out were lead by General Robert E. Lee. Well, as the battle raged on General Lee ordered the Confederacy to fire until there were no more Union soldiers left. Our Union Major finally decided to retreat when nearly all our men were killed! As this happened, a Confederate soldier in regular plain clothing stared in the nearby bushes at me while holding a musket with a bayonet attached to it. I was terrified as he began walking out of the bushes with the sharp point about to stab me or shoot me to death. I started backing away from him slowly as my arms quivered from fright, while trying to steady my musket.
I suddenly tripped backwards over a hard rock and fell on my head just as he shot at me. The little musket ball hit my Navy Blue hat straight in the center where my forehead used to be, thank the lord for making me accidentally trip on that rock! Once that happened, my fellow Union allies found me lying on the floor, slightly dizzy at the moment. They shot the Confederate more than I could count, possibly 30 times but, for all I know he was definitely not going to get back up unless he is god! I still have a very big headache because I banged my head hard on the floor as I fell, so I can't say any more for today but, I will write back soon when I loose my headache and whenever I get these bandages off my forehead!

John

Civil War Journal Entry

Dear Journal,

Today the Union army followed General Ulysses S. Grant and Major General George G. Meade toward Cold Harbor in the state of Virginia at Hanover Country on May 31- June 12, 1864. There were cannons flying and bullets everywhere. All I saw were bleeding men in Grey an Navy Blue uniforms lying on the floors. I was very terrified when a Confederate soldier ran toward me with his musket ready to fire. I am only 16 years old, what do you expect me to do but, run? So I ran as fast as my long legs could run behind my fellow Union group allies. One asked me why I was running and I simply replied that the Southerner was chasing me down. Another asked me why I didn't shoot them and I replied that I am afraid. I really shouldn't have said that because they all started yelling at me for not shooting them!
Will people ever understand, why I don't enjoy shooting? It's because I do not like killing people, it is kind of scary to see your own bullet hit someone and they begin falling on the floor bleeding while screaming in pain. Especially if a cannon dropped right on them, they won't even be screaming probably. In the distance I heard the Confederate General Robert E. Lee, my spine began to tingle when I heard that low, husky, bossy tone of voice when he gave orders to his army. So, like you would guess, I ran again. I really don't appreciate running away from them because I feel that I am useless and a waste of space in the military if I don't help but, I am just too scared to try. After the battle, everyone was tired out, and all I saw was dead carcasses lying on the floor everywhere I went. As we marched back to the regiment to rest, since we didn't sleep for days, my boots squished and squashed on the wet, reddish-brownish grass. That is simply all I have to say for today, I am too tired to write anymore. I will write to my journal again next time but, in the meantime, goodnight!

John

Civil War Quiz

On the bottom of this blog should be some poll questions. Please take this quiz to test how much you learned about the American Civil War.

Civil War Letter

Dear mother,

I know you must be very nervous about me going into this whole war but, I would have to say that I am doing very well. I am quite homesick, the food here is really horrible because for these past few days we only had cold, hard bread. I really do miss your cooking. It is currently April 11, 1862 which is 3 days after a huge battle at Shiloh, Tennessee. We were invaded by the Confederate army while the Union were under command by General Ulysses S. Grant. At first I thought we would lose but, luckily we called for more help and another regiment arrived in the middle of the night. Finally we got the South soldiers to retreat the next morning and we were too tired to go after them. I would have to say that about 13,000 out of 63,000 of us died and 11,000 of 40,000 Souther soldiers were killed. I am sorry for not writing to you sooner but, I took a couple of days to get my sleep. I really wish I can talk to you some more about what is going on here but, I must go now, we are about to carry supplies from the wagons and eat some cold soup. Hopefully I can talk to you again soon, bye!

Love,
Edward

Clara Barton

Born: December 25, 1821
Died: April 12, 1912
Parents: Mother-Sarah Stone, Father- Stephen Barton.
Siblings: Sisters- Dolly, Sally. Brothers- Stephen, David
Education: Her older sister Dolly and Sally taught her to read at a young age, brother Stephen taught her math, and brother David taught her to ride on horses.
Early Life: Was taught at early age, had a very stressful family, was made fun of by own family members, and siblings had to care for her. Throughout all the hardships in the family she learned to use it as a skill which was later known as being a army nurse. As a teenager she was challenged by boys to a game, defeated them, had an award of discipline given to her school, offered many different types of jobs and the amount of pay that only male teachers were suppose to get, so she taught at school for 10 years.
Reasons for being Famous: Clarissa Harlowe Barton was famous for being a very helpful volunteer/nurse in the Civil War and she also started the American Red Cross.
Other facts: Clara was also known as "The Angel of Civil War Battlefields". In 1893 the American Red Cross formed and was later changed to the name American National Red Cross. After the War she stayed at a house in North Oxford where many children asked about her childhood, so she published a book called "The Story of My Childhood" in the year 1907. Later she died at Glen Echo from pneumonia.

Timeline of the Important Events and Battles of the Civil War

1861

February 9- Southern States (Confederate) elects Jefferson Davis as their president.

April 12- At exactly 4:30 a.m. General Pierre Beauregard orders Confederate soldiers to attack Fort Sumter, which was located Charleston, California. The Beginning of the Civil War!

April 17- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina joins the Confederacy.

July 21- The North (Union) loses the Battle of Bull Run (located 25 miles from Washington), who was lead by General Irvin McDowell. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earns the new title as "Stonewall" because of his army surviving after Union attacks.

1862

February 6- General Ulysses S. Grant takes over Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, after he earns the new title as " Unconditional Surrender".

February 20- President Lincoln's 11 year old son past away from fever, after drinking from dirty water in the White House.

April 6/7- General Ulysses S. Grant and his small Union army is surprise attacked by Confederates at Shiloh. A victory for the struggling North!

May 31- General Joseph E. Johnston gets badly wounded after trying to attack McClellan's army.

June1- General Robert E. Lee replaces Johnston for the Confederate army.

June 25- July 1- The Seven Days Battle had a big lost of people for both sides, after Lee attacks McClellan around Richmond. Confederates won that battle!

August 29/30- The Union army is defeated again at the Second Battle of Bull Run in North of Virginia, the Confederates were controlled by General Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet.

September 17- General Lee's army is ceased by McClellan at Antietam in Maryland, many men were either wounded, missing, or dead. This battle was the bloodiest in U.S history, Union gains a victory as Lee flees.

September 22- The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was made by President Lincoln for making all slaves free.

December 13- The newly replaced General Ambrose E. Burnside and his Union army loses at Fredericksburg in Virginia.

1863

May 1-4- General Lee's small army defeats the newly replaced Union General Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker, Stonewall Jackson was badly wounded by his own side.

May 10- Stonewall Jackson past away from the wounds, his last words were "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." (This caused a huge damage on South)

July 1-3- General Lee was defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

July 4- The last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, Vicksburg, surrendered to Union General Grant.

1864

May 4- June 3- General Grant marches toward major battles at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. As they are in North Virginia, Sherman controls another Union army in the west toward Atlanta to fight Joseph E. Johnston's army.

April 9- Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia.

April 14- In the middle of the night after the celebration for the Union's victory, President Lincoln went to Ford's Theater with his wife to watch a play called "Our American Cousin". At approximately 10:13 p.m, Lincoln was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth. Doctors tended to him immediately but, he never woke up.

April 15- President Lincoln dies at 7:22 a.m.

April 26- John Wilkes Booth is killed in a tobacco field in Virginia by a bullet.

May 4- Abraham Lincoln's grave was placed in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.

Somewhere in May- Other Confederates surrender and the country is united again, over 620,000 people were killed during the whole war, only 50,000 survivors made it back home. The end of the Civil War!

As Time Flies ( A Civil War Poem)

As the bombs burst in the air,
no one will care.
There will be many falls,
when there are flying cannon balls.
Death rolls in all directions,
and you will lose your family connections.

As time flies by,
many more die.
Bloody battles rage,
when South slaves are stuck in a cage.
Muskets being fired,
free slaves being hired.

Confusion all around,
allies and friends on the ground.
When a year has flown away,
bodies will decay.
Souls will disappear and soar,
welcome to the Civil War.

Reflection: Since the Civil War was one of the biggest and deadliest wars in U.S. history, I decided to write a poem all about it. The poem simply is telling you how it looked like in the war. As I was writing this I was thinking for a while to come up with a catchy rhyming poem because I always prefer rhymes. When I was finally complete, I was quite proud of myself for actually making it rhyme and easy to understand for viewers like you.

The Battle of Bull Run Skit

*Huge booming of cannons going across the battlefield at Bull Run*

Drummer Boy: Hurry up, we must keep moving!
John: *gasping for air* I am trying, but this is much more difficult then you think when all you do is hit that drum all day.
Union Soldier 1: *annoyed* John, this is no time to be arguing about a stupid drum, this drummer boy is very important and we must follow those beats.
Union Soldier 2: Can you guys move faster? We have no time to spare, we must go into this battle and I want to finish this up!
John: Never mind this nonsense, continue forward!

*The small group of Union soldiers follow the drummer boy as he makes some beats*

Confederate Soldier 1: Quickly and lets get this over with, this shouldn't be a problem!
Confederate Soldier 2: Those Yankee folks are the worst army ever, we can probably over run them in an instant!

*The Confederate's travel closer to the battlefield*

Union General: Over there John, a huge army of Confederates, lets cease them from coming any further!
John: Should we begin firing?
Union Soldier 1: I am not waiting, lets move out! *The small group follows the soldier as they all get bombarded with cannons*

*Screams of pain from the soldiers ahead*

Union General: Stupid fools never listen, come on John, lets meet up with the second quadrant and also find Clara.

*The General and John goes back to the campsite and finds the second group also meeting up with Clara Barton*

Clara Barton: *Tired* Can I help you?
Union General: Hello Clara, sorry to bother you but, my quadrant disobeyed orders and was attacked unexpectedly by the Confederates.
Clara: Well I will try to tend to them, where are they?
Union General: They are at Bull Run, it is kind of dangerous to go, don't you think?
Clara: I am shocked at what you are saying general! Union soldiers must have courage if they want to abolish slavery! That is why I must go out there, even if its dangerous or not, I must help those Yankees!

*Clara Barton takes other nurses with her and rides away on a wagon pulled by a horse toward Bull Run*

Confederate Soldier 2: We are losing men by the minute, call for more help!
Confederate General: *Disappointed* I will send someone to bring back more men.

*Bombs exploded everywhere, gun fires went in all directions, confused soldiers shot allies, and the whole floor was covered with dead soldiers in blue, gray, and colorful uniforms*

Union General: Let us go back, we got more people now!
John: Come on everyone!
Union Soldier 3: We will annihilate those Southerners!

*The new quadrant runs back toward the deadly battlefield as the sun begins to set*

Confederate Soldier Group: We have arrived to win back those runaway slaves that were ours!

Confederate General: Let us all win this battle and go home!

*A huge, new, active army of Confederates charges and fires at shocked Union soldiers*

Union General: Fall back, fall back, retreat!!!
Union Soldier 1 : Ahhhhhh run for your lives, there are too many of them!

*Union army flees, but some were shot on they way back*

Confederate General: Victory goes to the Superior South!