On Thursday, students in Patrick Young and Thomas Rende’s American Experience class explored the lives of Union soldiers during the Civil War through an immersive gallery walk activity.
Students engaged their senses to understand the challenges faced by those in the army, completing questions about various topics at five different Civil War stations: army food, weapons and equipment, games, battlefield medicine and diseases.
From sampling hard tack and chicory root tea to trying on a replica wool soldier’s coat and observing the limited water capacity of a canteen, students were encouraged to think critically about how they would have reacted and responded to such inhospitable conditions…