Today in 1865 Lee Surrendered to Grant: Some Free Info Resources For Homeschool Etc.

Today in 1865 at the

Appomattox Court House Virginia

General Robert E. Lee Surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant

NPS IMAGE

Keith Rocco painting, The Surrender

On the evening of April the 8th, 1865 General Robert E. Lee and the remnants of his once-proud Army of Northern Virginia arrived in Appomattox County one step ahead of the pursuing Federal Army. Lee's hope was to reach Appomattox Station on the South Side Railroad where supply trains awaited. It wouldn't wind up that way, as we know.

As the National Park System puts it:

 Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia signaled the end of the Southern States attempt to create a separate nation. It set the stage for the emergence of an expanded and more powerful Federal government. In a sense the struggle over how much power the central government would hold had finally been settled.

First, you can go here to learn more about each major player in this event:

Robert E. Lee American Civil War Confederate General:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ulyssessgrant
'via Blog this'

Then, learn about the surrender and location at these sites:

http://americancivilwar.com/appo.html

There is a lot of great info at the Appomatox National Park site:
http://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm
For instance you can view or even print in PDF format the teacher's packet:  http://www.nps.gov/apco/forteachers/teacher-packet-outline.htm

Don't forget to scroll down and check out the stories about:
The Surrender Meeting
The McClean House (the surrender site)
The Appomattox Campaign
plus the interesting pic and description of the "parole passes" given to Confederates.
Then you can:

Use the Photo Gallery to take a pictorial visit of the buildings that make up the historic village of Appomattox Court House today.  See how they look now, and see how some of them looked in 1865. http://www.nps.gov/apco/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

Top it all off with the next best thing to going there yourself (Unless you are blessed to be able to take a field trip there :) )

Virtual Tour

http://www.nps.gov/apco/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm

The links there "

offer panoramic views of the Appomattox Court House historic village. Once the image loads, click on the picture and drag in any direction to change the perspective."

Teachers don't forget to check out the Teachers page for even more resources:
http://www.nps.gov/apco/forteachers/index.htm
Teachers may request to borrow a copy of the park's two orientation videos, "Honor Answers Honor" and "The Appomattox Campaign" available on DVD.

2. The park's teacher packet is intended to provide background information about how the armies came to meet at Appomattox Court House, and what brought about the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. There are also copies of historic documents, study questions, and learning activities for young learners. This is a .pdf file that is intended for educational purposes and may be copied in part, or in total.

3. Lesson Plans meeting national and Virginia Standards of Learning are available to teachers and home schoolers at no charge through the Curriculum Materials link.

4. To avoid "double bookings," field trips should be scheduled with the educational coordinator.

They also have some really cool trading cards students can earn at different locations. (Wish I could afford to take my kids there :( )

http://www.nps.gov/apco/civil-war-150th-trading-cards.htm

The 150th anniversary of the Civil War is being celebrated by issuing Civil War commemorative trading cards. There are 189 trading cards available at National Parks throughout the Northeast Region and Washington D.C. areas.