Engage

Overview

In this experience, students examine how early military strategies and battles shaped the opening years of the Civil War. Students analyze strategy, battle outcomes, and their lasting impacts. First, students reflect on the significance of the attack on Fort Sumter and consider how the outbreak of war forced both sides to make immediate decisions about how to fight. Next, students analyze Union and Confederate military strategies to understand how goals, resources, and expectations influenced early planning. Then, students investigate four major early battles of the war to determine how these strategies played out in practice and why each battle was significant, even when outcomes were unclear or costly. Finally, the Elaborate scene invites students to explore the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam by examining its impact on civilians, the environment, and daily life, and to synthesize how the consequences of war extended far beyond the battlefield.

Estimated Duration: 45–60 minutes

Vocabulary:

campaign a series of planned military actions meant to achieve a specific goal in a war
emancipation: the act of freeing people from slavery or control and granting them freedom
gunboats: small, heavily armed ships used to attack enemies or protect waterways
naval blockade: a strategy where ships block ports or coastlines to stop supplies and trade from reaching an enemy
preliminary: happening before the main event or action
The Anaconda Plan: a Union strategy during the Civil War to defeat the Confederacy by blocking its ports and cutting off supplies
The Emancipation Proclamation: an order issued by President Abraham Lincoln that declared enslaved people in Confederate states to be free

Objectives:

Identify how early Union and Confederate strategies shaped the opening phase of the Civil War.
Explain why early Civil War battles were significant to how the war developed

In this experience, students work in small groups to complete the Explain scene. Consider previewing the activity to inform grouping.

It is highly encouraged to complete Scene 4, as it connects directly to the civilian and human impacts of the war by examining how large numbers of casualties affected people on both sides. This scene gives students a concrete example of wartime loss that they will draw on in the experience, The End of the War, when they analyze a PBS video exploring the broader human impact of the Civil War across the United States.

In the foreground of this color engraving, a line of soldiers in dark uniforms operates large cannons behind a fortification made of sandbags and barrels. In the distance across the water, thick plumes of dark smoke and fire erupt from the stone walls of Fort Sumter under a sky filled with the arched trails of flying mortar shells.

The Battle of Fort Sumter

As you have learned, the Civil War began after long-standing tensions between the North and the South erupted into open conflict. Think about the events surrounding the Battle of Fort Sumter, and then share your ideas in the discussion wall.

What made the Battle of Fort Sumter significant?

Post your answer

When discussing student responses, highlight answers that move beyond simply naming Fort Sumter as the first battle and instead point to what it revealed about the conflict. Press students to think about why this moment was significant, not just that it happened. If students say it “started the war,” follow up with questions like What changed after Fort Sumter? and What did this event make clear about how disagreements would be handled moving forward? Use these responses to surface ideas about escalation, commitment, and the shift from political conflict to armed war.

As the conversation develops, guide students to connect Fort Sumter’s significance to the decisions that followed. Ask questions such as What does this moment suggest about how prepared each side was for a long war? and How might this event have shaped the strategies leaders chose next? Encourage students to build on one another’s ideas and listen for patterns across responses. This discussion positions Fort Sumter as a turning point that forced both sides to act, setting the stage for the military strategies and early battles students will examine in the next scenes.

In this experience, you will learn how early choices made by Union and Confederate leaders, along with the outcomes of the first battles, shaped expectations about the length, intensity, and direction of the Civil War.

Objectives:

Identify how early Union and Confederate strategies shaped the opening phase of the Civil War.
Explain why early Civil War battles were significant to how the war developed

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

The Early War