Addison Trail students participate in interactive events to learn about Civil War

On Dec. 18, students in Addison Trail social studies teacher Mark Olson’s Advanced Placement (AP) United States History class participated in an event with the National Park Service and the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton to meet benchmark 5.8 Military Conflict in the Civil War (pictured above).

Ranger Mark Chaney from the Antietam National Battlefield (pictured above) presented to students via Zoom about Antietam (or the Battle of Sharpsburg), which took place on Sept. 17, 1862. According to https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/defining-battles-civil-war, President Abraham Lincoln used that occasion to announce the Emancipation Proclamation.

Students also had the opportunity to experience Cantigny’s “History in a Trunk,” which allowed them to examine Civil War artifacts and primary sources (including replica uniforms) to better understand what life was like during the war and its impact on the nation (pictured above).