A Poem for 151st Anniversary of the end
of the Civil War
The Civil War ended today! Well….today as in April 9th….and 151 years ago. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant. However, the last battle took place on May 13, 1865. Confused? Me too. So maybe it would be easier to say the war was won, but not over. Since cell phones weren’t exactly in abundance at the time, it took a while for the word to travel.
Unlike, my husband and my daughter, remembering historical facts does not come all that naturally to me. That may be because I don’t find history all that interesting. {gasp} And that possibly could be contributed to the fact that most of all my lessons on history were: listen to a lecture/take notes/lecture/video/lecture/try to stay awake/notes/daydream. {double gasp}
Now – when we visited a Civil War re-enactment…that was different. There was action; there was movement; there was authenticity….there were people playing the parts that willfully answered all my questions (even if some of them looked at me like I should have remembered it from school).
It is handy to have a super smart daughter who adores history. She has even racked up the volunteer hours working at our local historical society. So, my tactic in figuring out something historically related is to look at her sweetly, smile – and she fills me in.
I did, however, come up with this nifty little poem a few years back and the kids still remember it. – Now you can too.
In 1861, the Civil War begun.
The Confederates wanted slavery to be legal,
But the Union wanted everyone to be freegal.
In 1865, Lincoln said, “STOP!
“Be nice and high five!”
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended four years later on April 9, 1865. Of course there is much, much more to be learned about the Civil War at varying levels of “intensity” and appropriateness. It’s very humbling to think about it all. Many lives were lost throughout the battles and Lincoln was assassinated a few days after the declaration of the war ending.
We have also visited the Milton House Museum, in Milton Wisconsin. It is a nationally recognized stop on the Underground Railroad. the Underground Railroad consisted of secret routes and safe houses to assist slaves to free US states and Canada. You get to tour the house and see where individuals may have hidden in order to remain safe and how many people worked together to help each other. A neat experience for all ages.
If you want to learn more check out some of the sources below and many others on Pinterest. Check your local library for a plethora of books and if you get the chance to attend a reenactment, it’s a great learning experience. (Heads up though – the cannons are loud.)
Here are a few more neat resources to check out:
