Civil War comes to elementary school

Civil War re-enactors from the 54th Massachusetts Division, from left, Joseph McGill, Terry James, Barbra McCracken and Betty Brown have a quick meeting before giving their presentation Wednesday at Lake City Elementary School. The group talked with students about the roles of blacks during the Civil War, showed them the types of food soldiers ate and took questions from third-graders and members of the talented and gifted class.

By: | SCNOW
Published: September 24, 2008

Civil War re-enactors visited Lake City Elementary School on Wednesday to enhance students’ classroom lessons by discussing the roles of blacks during the war.

Joseph McGill, Barbara McCracken, Betty Brown and Terry James, all of Company I of the 54th Massachusetts Re-enactment Regimen, talked with students in the third grade, as well as in the gifted and talented program.

Dressed like Union soldiers and women from that period, the group took students back in time through an oral presentation of the life of blacks during the war.

McGill, who is one of the organization’s founders, said the event was an opportunity to share a part of history that goes beyond the month of February.

“There’s more to our history than those common heroes (discussed during Black History Month),” he said. “We hope they will appreciate the fact that there are more heroes in our history.

“We hope that students will appreciate the roles that African Americans played in the Civil War,” he said. “I want them to be as excited as I am about this story.”

McGill said he was inspired by the movie “Glory” to begin telling the stories — some of which have gone untold— of black soldiers in the Civil War.

Angie Cooper, a gifted and talented teacher, said the group’s visit gives students another way to relate to her history lessons.

“(I try to do) anything to make the course come alive,” she said. “They will remember it longer.

“History is to be remembered and not forgotten,” she said. “The more we learned about history and where we’ve been, the more we can understand where we’re going in the future.

Company I is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education of the public and preservation of the memory of the soldiers of the Civil War, particularly blacks serving the Union in the South Carolina, according to the Civil War at Charleston Web site, www.awod.com/gallery/probono/cwchas/54ma.html.

The unit’s members conduct battle re-enactments, visit schools and participate in other public events throughout the year.

On the Web

Lake City Elementary School, http://lcps.florence3.k12.sc.us

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Co. I Inc., www.awod.com/gallery/probono/cwchas/54ma.html