★ · Most Support
Name
Date
Civil War Simulation
Battle Journal
Pay attention to · while you play Historical Mode
- You will play all 13 battles. On this page, you only write about one key battle per act (the others you just play).
- After each Act review screen, answer that act's reflection question in the box.
- Your final job: How was the Union able to defeat the Confederacy? Build evidence as you play, then answer on the back.
Act I · The War Begins · 1861-1862
Shiloh
My choiceMatched history?YesNo
I chose to .
Why it mattered (sum up the key idea in your own words)
This battle mattered because...
Act I reflection · answer after the Act I review screen
After Shiloh, Grant said the only way to save the country was to completely beat the South, not just win one battle. Why do you think seeing so much fighting changed how he thought about the war?
I think...
Evidence for the big question
One way this act helped the Union win:
This act helped the Union because...
Act II · A New Kind of War · 1862-1863
Chancellorsville
My choiceMatched history?YesNo
I chose to .
Why it mattered (sum up the key idea in your own words)
This battle mattered because...
Act II reflection · answer after the Act II review screen
Lee won a huge battle, but he lost his best general, Stonewall Jackson. Was this victory worth it? When can winning still feel like losing?
I think...
Evidence for the big question
One way this act helped the Union win:
This act helped the Union because...
Act III · The Tide Turns · 1863
Chickamauga
My choiceMatched history?YesNo
I chose to .
Why it mattered (sum up the key idea in your own words)
This battle mattered because...
Act III reflection · answer after the Act III review screen
One mixed-up order created the gap that lost the whole battle. How much of war comes down to luck or mistakes versus actual skill and planning?
I think...
Evidence for the big question
One way this act helped the Union win:
This act helped the Union because...
Act IV · The War's Legacy · 1864-1865
Appomattox
My choiceMatched history?YesNo
I chose to .
Why it mattered (sum up the key idea in your own words)
This battle mattered because...
Act IV reflection · answer after the Act IV review screen
Grant let the Confederate soldiers go home in peace. Five days later, Lincoln was killed. How might things have been different if Lincoln had lived? When a war ends, what does a country owe to the people who suffered?
I think...
Evidence for the big question
One way this act helped the Union win:
This act helped the Union because...
Part 2 · Build Your Answer
Your Answer
Look back at your four "One way this act helped the Union win" lines. You already have your evidence. Use them to build your answer below.
Word Bank · 8 important words from the game
Anaconda Plan: the Union plan to block Southern ports and take the Mississippi River, squeezing the South like a snake.
Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln's order in 1863. It freed enslaved people in the South. It made the war a fight against slavery.
total war: destroying farms and factories, not just fighting the army.
Battle of Gettysburg: A big Union win in 1863. The South tried to invade the North and lost.
Siege of Vicksburg: A long battle in 1863. The Union won the Mississippi River and split the South in two.
Ulysses S. Grant: A Union general. He did not give up. He led all Union armies in 1864.
William T. Sherman: A Union general. He marched through the South and used total war.
54th Massachusetts: a brave Black Union regiment that fought at Fort Wagner in 1863.
Big Question How did the Union win the Civil War? Pick three things from the Word Bank.
Q1 My three reasons.
Try: Pick three words from the Word Bank above and write them in.
The Union won because of
,
, and
.
Q2 Tell why each one helped the Union win.
Try: "This helped the Union because ______."
Q3 Which one of your three reasons was the most important? Tell why.
Try: "______ was most important because ______."