D2.His.13.6-8: Judging Whether a Source Fits Your Question: Gettysburg, 1863

Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Your class wants to know two things about last week's science fair (an invented example): Who won first prize? How nervous were the students who presented? You have three sources: the judges' score sheet, a diary one presenter wrote that night, and a story on the school website written a week later by a parent volunteer. Which source would you use for each question, and why?"

   Give students two minutes to write, then take answers. Most students pick the score sheet for the first question and the diary for the second. Ask why the score sheet is a poor choice for the second question: it is about the right event, but it was made by judges to record points, so it says nothing about feelings. Write two words on the board: relevant (it is about my question) and useful (it can really help me answer my question). Tell students that historians make the same choices with sources from the past.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Define the two judgments. A research question is the question you are trying to answer. A source is relevant to a research question (the noun is relevancy) when it gives information about the people, place, time and topic the question asks about. A source's utility is how useful it is: how well it can help you answer the question. Relevancy comes first, because a source that says nothing about your question cannot help with it. But a relevant source can still be weak: its maker may have heard the story from someone else, or written it long afterward, or made it to honor someone rather than to report.

   Historians judge utility with clues about how a source was made. One clue is whether the maker was an eyewitness, someone who saw the events himself or herself. Hand out the Source Fit Check and read each row. Explain the harder words: the place of origin is where the source was made; the intended audience is the person or group the maker expected to read or see it; the purpose is the reason it was made.

   The Source Fit Check (an SVHS teaching tool): five clues, then two judgments

   Step	Ask	Where to look
   Clue 1: Maker	Who made it? Was the maker there, and what could he or she see or know?	The author's name, the words "I" and "we," the caption under the source
   Clue 2: Date	When was it made? How long after the events?	Dates in the text, the year of printing
   Clue 3: Place of origin	Where was it made, or where was the maker standing?	Place names, "here," notes the lesson gives about the source
   Clue 4: Intended audience	Who was it made for: one person, a family, soldiers, the public?	Words like "my readers" or "dear brother"
   Clue 5: Purpose	Why was it made: to remember, to inform, to honor, to persuade, to sell?	What the maker says about the reason; the kind of source
   Judgment 1: Relevant?	Does it give information about the people, place, time and topic of my question? Yes, Partly or No	Copy the words that show it
   Judgment 2: Useful?	How well can it help me answer my question? Very, Somewhat or Not very	Give at least two clues as reasons

   Give the background. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1-3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by General Robert E. Lee. On July 3, Lee's artillery (large cannons) fired on the Union line for about two hours, a cannonade or bombardment (heavy, steady cannon fire), before about 12,000 Confederate soldiers attacked it (National Park Service, Source 2). Then show the four research questions the class will use all lesson.

   Four research questions used in this lesson

   Question	What it asks
   A	What was the battle like for the people who lived near Gettysburg?
   B	What was it like for Union soldiers on the ridge they held when the Confederate cannons opened fire on July 3?
   C	How many soldiers were killed, wounded or missing in the battle?
   D	How did Americans remember the battle about twenty-five years later?

   Read Source 1 aloud. It is the start of a book by Tillie Pierce Alleman, who was a schoolgirl in Gettysburg in 1863 (her book's title calls it "what a girl saw") and published her memories in 1889. Model the Source Fit Check on it, thinking aloud, before showing the two worked examples.

   1Impressed with the fact that incidents connected with the Battle of Gettysburg, are daily becoming more appreciated, and believing that the recital of those occurrences will awaken new interest as time rolls on, I am constrained to transmit in some tangible form, my knowledge of the place now so historic, as well as my experience during those thrilling days of July, 1863.

   2Nor is it with any desire to be classed among the heroines of that period, that these lines are written; but simply to show what many a patriotic and loyal girl would have done if surrounded by similar circumstances.

   3In truth, the history of those days contains numerous instances, in which America's daughters, loyal to their country and flag, have experienced, suffered and sacrificed far more than did the present writer.

   4In their behalf, and as a legacy to my own offspring, I therefore pen these lines, and deem it unnecessary to make any further apology.

   5Gettysburg is my native place.

   6As is doubtless known to many of my readers, it is most pleasantly located in a healthful region of country, near the southern border of Pennsylvania.

   7Prior to the battle it was comparatively unknown to the outside world, save to those interested in the Lutheran College and Theological Seminary here located.

   Next read Source 3 together. Its maker, Frank Haskell, was an aide (an assistant officer) to the Union general John Gibbon. Before reading, explain these words: a staff is the group of officers who help a general; the crest is the top of the ridge where his men stood; a shell is an exploding cannon ball; a corps (said "core") is a large part of an army; "Rebel" was the Union soldiers' word for the Confederates; and to estimate is to make a careful guess. Then read Source 4, the 1908 editor's preface, which tells how Haskell's letter came to be printed. For Source 4, explain that a pamphlet is a thin paper booklet, an edition is one printing of a book, to reprint is to print again, and omissions are parts left out.

   1We dozed in the heat, and lolled upon the ground, with half open eyes. Our horses were hitched to the trees munching some oats. A great lull rests upon all the field. Time was heavy, and for want of something better to do, I yawned, and looked at my watch. It was five minutes before one o'clock. I returned my watch to its pocket, and thought possibly that I might go to sleep, and stretched myself upon the ground accordingly. Ex uno disce omnes. My attitude and purpose were those of the General and the rest of the staff.

   2What sound was that? There was no mistaking it. The distinct sharp sound of one of the enemy's guns, square over to the front, caused us to open our eyes and turn them in that direction, when we saw directly above the crest the smoke of the bursting shell, and heard its noise. In an instant, before a word was spoken, as if that was the signal gun for general work, loud, startling, booming, the report of gun after gun in rapid succession smote our ears and their shells plunged down and exploded all around us. We sprang to our feet. In briefest time the whole Rebel line to the West was pouring out its thunder and its iron upon our devoted crest. The wildest confusion for a few moments obtained sway among us. The shells came bursting all about. The servants ran terror-stricken for dear life and disappeared. The horses, hitched to the trees or held by the slack hands of orderlies, neighed out in fright, and broke away and plunged riderless through the fields. The General at the first had snatched his sword, and started on foot for the front. I called for my horse; nobody responded. I found him tied to a tree, near by, eating oats, with an air of the greatest composure, which under the circumstances, even then struck me as exceedingly ridiculous. He alone, of all beasts or men near was cool. I am not sure but that I learned a lesson then from a horse. [...] A hundred and twenty-five rebel guns, we estimate, are now active, firing twenty-four pound, twenty, twelve and ten-pound projectiles, solid shot and shells, spherical, conical, spiral. The enemy's fire is chiefly concentrated upon the position of the Second Corps. [...]

   1This story of the Battle of Gettysburg was written by Lieutenant Haskell to his brother, H. M. Haskell of Portage, not long after the contest. It was not intended for publication; but its great merit was at once recognized, and it was offered to Mr. Turner for insertion in his weekly paper. It was, however, too long a document for such purpose. About fifteen years later, it was published in a pamphlet of 72 pages, without even a title-page, for private circulation only. The account was widely read by military experts, and received much praise for both its literary and its professional merit. The pamphlet having become rare, for the edition was small, was reprinted in 1898 as part of the history of Dartmouth's Class of 1854. Certain omissions and changes were, however, made therein by its editor, Captain Daniel Hall, who was an aide on General Howard's staff; the reason assigned being, that the account was written so soon after the battle that "although surprisingly accurate in minute details," the author was not fully informed relative to one or two facts which to him seemed to reflect on General Sickles. Captain Hall assumed that were Colonel Haskell now living, he would have justified these omissions. In March, 1908, the Dartmouth College version was reprinted by the Commandery of Massachusetts, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, under the editorship of Captain Charles Hunt.

   2In deciding to inaugurate its own series of Reprints with Colonel Haskell's brilliant paper, the Wisconsin History Commission has, in accordance with its fixed policy, reverted to the original edition, which is here presented entire, exactly as first printed. [...]

   • Source Fit Check: Source 1 and question D

     Question D asks how Americans remembered the battle about twenty-five years later. Use the five clues on Source 1, then make both judgments.

     Result: Maker: Alleman, who was there; Gettysburg is her "native place" (paragraph 5). Date: published in 1889, when, she says, the battle's incidents were "daily becoming more appreciated" (paragraph 1). Place of origin: the excerpt does not say where she wrote it, only that Gettysburg is where she was born. Audience: "my readers" (paragraph 6) and "my own offspring" (paragraph 4). Purpose: "to show what many a patriotic and loyal girl would have done" (paragraph 2). Relevant: yes. Useful: very, because in her own words she shows how one person who lived through the battle chose to tell it about a generation later, and for whom.

   • Relevancy first: Source 1 and question C

     Question C asks how many soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. Is Source 1 relevant?

     Result: No. The introduction gives no numbers and no account of the fighting. The clues explain why: it is the opening of a memory book for her readers and her family, not a count made by people who kept records. A source that is not relevant cannot be useful for the question, so set it aside here, even though it was very useful for question D.

   • Source Fit Check: Source 3 and question B

     Question B asks what it was like for Union soldiers on their ridge when the Confederate cannons opened fire on July 3. Use Sources 3 and 4.

     Result: Maker: Haskell, an officer on General Gibbon's staff, on the ridge himself: shells fell on "our devoted crest" (Source 3, paragraph 2). Date: written "not long after the contest" (Source 4, paragraph 1). Audience: "his brother, H. M. Haskell of Portage" (Source 4, paragraph 1). Purpose: a private letter; "It was not intended for publication" (Source 4, paragraph 1). Relevant: yes, it tells the first minutes of the July 3 cannonade. Useful: very, because he saw and heard it himself and wrote it down within weeks for someone he did not need to impress.

   • Relevancy first: Source 3 and question A

     Question A asks what the battle was like for the people who lived near Gettysburg. Is Source 3 relevant?

     Result: No. Source 3 stays with the soldiers and officers on the ridge. It mentions horses, guns and shells, and nothing about the town or the families who lived there. Even an excellent eyewitness source is not relevant to a question about people it never saw.

   Point out the pattern: Source 1 was very useful for one question and not relevant to another, and so was Source 3. The judgment always belongs to a source and a question together.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Pairs read Source 2 and complete a Source Fit Check for it on questions C and B. Circulate and ask, "Which words show it is relevant? What clue makes it stronger or weaker?" Then share the key.

   1On July 3 Lee’s artillery opened a two-hour bombardment of the Federal lines on Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill. This for a time engaged the massed guns of both sides in a thundering duel for supremacy but did little to soften up the Federal defensive position. Then some 12,000 Confederates advanced across open fields toward the Federal center in an attack known as “Pickett’s Charge.” The attack failed and cost Lee over 5,000 soldiers in one hour. The Battle of Gettysburg was over. The next day, July 4, Lee began his retreat to Virginia.

   [...]

   2The battle brought devastation to the residents of Gettysburg. When the armies marched away from Gettysburg they left behind a community in shambles and over 51,000 soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. Wounded and dying were crowded into nearly every building. Every farm field or garden was a graveyard. Most of the dead lay in hastily dug and inadequate graves; some had not been buried at all. Churches, public buildings and even private homes were hospitals, filled with wounded soldiers. The Union medical staff that remained were strained to treat so many wounded scattered about the county. To meet the demand, Camp Letterman General Hospital was established east of Gettysburg where all of the wounded were eventually taken to before transport to permanent hospitals in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. [...]

   Key for the teacher.

   1. Clues. Maker: the National Park Service, the federal agency that runs Gettysburg National Military Park. Date: the page was last updated in 2022. Place of origin: the park's website. Audience: visitors and web readers who want to learn about the battle. Purpose: to explain the battle and what followed it.
   2. Question C. Relevant: yes, "over 51,000 soldiers dead, wounded, or missing" (paragraph 2). Useful: very, as a starting point, because it gives one total for both armies. Its limit: the page does not say which records the total comes from, so a careful researcher would look for those records next.
   3. Question B. Relevant: partly. One sentence names the "two-hour bombardment" of the Union lines (paragraph 1). Useful: not very. It is a short summary and names no one who heard the guns, so it cannot show what the soldiers lived through.
4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students read Source 5 on their own, another part of Alleman's 1889 book, and answer in writing:

   1. Find two clues about Source 5: its date and where Alleman was. Use Source 1, Source 5 and the note just above Source 5.
   2. Is Source 5 relevant to question A? Copy the words that show it, with the paragraph number.
   3. Rate Source 5's utility for question A (Very, Somewhat or Not very). Give one clue that makes it stronger and one that makes it weaker.

   Explain two words first: infantry are soldiers who fight on foot, and a column is a long line of marching soldiers.

   Note on Source 5. Earlier in the same chapter, Alleman tells that on the afternoon of July 1 she left town on foot with a neighbor, Mrs. Schriver, whose father, Jacob Weikert, "lived on the Taneytown road at the eastern slope of the Round Top," "about three miles to the south" of town.

   1At last we reached Mr. Weikert's and were gladly welcomed to their home.

   2It was not long after our arrival, until Union artillery came hurrying by. It was indeed a thrilling sight. How the men impelled their horses! How the officers urged the men as they all flew past toward the sound of the battle! Now the road is getting all cut up; they take to the fields, and all is an anxious, eager hurry! Shouting, lashing the horses, cheering the men, they all rush madly on.

   [...]

   3After the artillery had passed, infantry began coming. I soon saw that these men were very thirsty and would go to the spring which is on the north side of the house.

   4I was not long in learning what I could do. Obtaining a bucket, I hastened to the spring, and there, with others, carried water to the moving column until the spring was empty. We then went to the pump standing on the south side of the house, and supplied water from it. Thus we continued giving water to our tired soldiers until night came on, when we sought rest indoors.

   5It was toward the close of the afternoon of this day that some of the wounded from the field of battle began to arrive where I was staying. They reported hard fighting, many wounded and killed, and were afraid our troops would be defeated and perhaps routed.

   6The first wounded soldier whom I met had his thumb tied up. This I thought was dreadful, and told him so.

   7“Oh,” said he, “this is nothing; you'll see worse than this before long.”

   8“Oh! I hope not,” I innocently replied.

   What to look for. Strong answers quote a paragraph number, use the note above Source 5 to say where the Weikert farm was, and connect the 1889 date to how much she could remember. A strong rating gives one strength and one limit; "Very" and "Somewhat" can both earn full credit when the reasons come from the clues.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Read Source 6 aloud: one paragraph from a history of the battle published in Boston in 1891. Explain three words first: a battery is a group of cannons placed together, a salvo is many guns fired at once, and signal guns are shots fired to tell everyone to begin. Students will use it in the quiz. Source 7, a preface written by an unnamed veteran for Alleman's book, is for homework.

   1Be that as it may, the order was given for his artillery to open. Longstreet had massed seventy-five guns in one battery, Hill sixty-three, and Ewell enough more to bring the number up to one hundred and fifty in all. At precisely one o'clock the signal guns were fired. Before their echoes died away the whole line of Confederate batteries was blazing like a volcano. There seemed to be but one flash and one report, and their simultaneous discharges, pealing out deafening salvos, went rolling and rolling on through the valleys, and echoing among the hills, in one mighty volume of sound, vying with the loudest thunder. It was sublimely grand, sublimely terrifying. Without a moment's warning, as if the heavens above had opened and the earth below yawned beneath their feet, the Union soldiers found themselves in the midst of the pitiless storm. A tornado of shot and shell burst upon Cemetery Hill, tearing the air, rending the rocks, plowing up the ground, and dealing death on all sides at once.

   1The experience of a little girl, during three days of a hard fought battle, as portrayed in this volume is certainly of rare occurrence, and very likely has never been realized before.

   2Such a narrative as the following, is worthy of preservation among the pages of our nations literature.

   3The story is told with such marked faithfulness, such honesty of expression, such vividness of portrayal, that those who lived in, and passed through those scenes, or similar ones, will at once recognize the situations, and surroundings, as natural and real.

   4While perusing its pages, the veteran will again live in the days gone by; when he tramped the dusty march, joined in the terrible charge, or suffered in the army hospital.

   [...]

   5We have been asked to write a preface to her narrative; but we cannot slight this opportunity of thanking her in the name of the “Boys in Blue,” and all patriots, for what she did.

   6We are truly glad to have this touching and thrilling story of her experience at the battle of Gettysburg, even though after many years; and our only regret is, that many of our comrades have answered to the last roll-call, before its publication.

   7We will rejoice in its publication, and wide circulation; for it is deserving a welcome, not only in public libraries, but in the family circle of every American.

   8It cannot fail to interest and instruct both old and young.

   9The book will speak for itself.

   10A VETERAN.

   Exit ticket: "Write one sentence about any source from today that uses the words relevant and useful, and give one clue as your reason."

   Teacher notes. (1) Every cut is marked [...]. Source 3 leaves out the deaths of a groom and of animals hit by shells; Source 5 leaves out an artillery explosion and a badly hurt soldier; Source 7 leaves out a page about soldiers drinking her water and a dying general; Sources 2 and 4 leave out paragraphs on other topics. The full books contain these descriptions; preview before sharing full texts. (2) "Rebel" was the Union soldiers' everyday word for the Confederates in 1863; Source 3 keeps the author's words. (3) The National Park Service page that Source 2 comes from also has paragraphs on the causes of the war and on how the war is remembered today; this lesson uses only its account of July 3 and the aftermath. (4) Sources 3 and 6 give different numbers of Confederate guns. Let students notice and explain the difference themselves rather than settling it for them. (5) Alleman was Tillie Pierce as a girl; she wrote under her married name.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A student's research question is "What did Gettysburg families cook and eat during the battle?" Which source (imagined for this question) is relevant to it?

   AA list of the cannons each army brought to the battle in 1863 BA Gettysburg woman's diary about baking bread on July 2, 1863 CA map of the roads both armies used to reach the town that week DA general's report on the attack made by his men on July 3, 1863

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which two clues together tell you whether a source's maker was in a position to see the events?

   AMaker and place of origin BIntended audience and purpose CThe source's title and length DThe publisher and the book's price

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A student wants to know what the weather was like in Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Which of these imagined sources would be most useful?

   AA movie scene set on July 3, 1863, filmed in Gettysburg in 2015 BA large painting of the battle made in 1885 for a public exhibit CA diary a Gettysburg resident wrote that evening, July 3, 1863 DA poem about the battle written for a ceremony in 1913

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A researcher wants Haskell's own words exactly as he wrote them in 1863. According to Source 4, why should she use the 1908 printing rather than the 1898 printing?

   AThe 1898 printing was too long for a weekly newspaper BHaskell rewrote the whole letter himself in 1908 CThe 1898 printing was made only for Haskell's brother DThe 1898 editor made "certain omissions and changes"

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which words make Source 2 relevant to research question A (what the battle was like for the people who lived near Gettysburg)?

   A"some 12,000 Confederates advanced across open fields" B"The next day, July 4, Lee began his retreat to Virginia" C"even private homes were hospitals" D"engaged the massed guns of both sides in a thundering duel"

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3, paragraph 2, says "A hundred and twenty-five rebel guns, we estimate, are now active." What do the words "we estimate" tell a researcher?

   AIt is the officers' judgment at the time, not an exact count BHaskell counted every Confederate gun after the battle had ended CThe number was copied later from General Lee's official report DThe guns belonged to the Union and were firing toward the town

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How useful is Source 5 for research question B (what it was like for Union soldiers on their ridge when the cannons opened fire on July 3)?

   AVery useful, because Alleman saw the battle herself BSomewhat useful, since wounded men told her of fighting CNot useful, because a girl's memories cannot be trusted DNot useful: it tells of July 1 at a farm, not July 3

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which words in Source 6 show Drake writing to stir his readers' feelings rather than to state a fact?

   A"Longstreet had massed seventy-five guns in one battery" B"It was sublimely grand, sublimely terrifying." C"At precisely one o'clock the signal guns were fired." D"Hill sixty-three"

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What clue inside Source 6 suggests that Drake did not watch the cannonade himself?

   AHe gives the number of guns each Confederate general had massed BHe names the hour, one o'clock, when the signal guns were fired CHe compares the guns to a volcano and their roar to thunder DHe writes about "the Union soldiers," never "I" or "we"

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Is Source 6 relevant to research question C (how many soldiers were killed, wounded or missing)?

    AYes: it counts the soldiers killed on Cemetery Hill BNot really: its numbers are guns, not losses CYes: "dealing death on all sides" gives the total DNo: books written in the 1890s are never relevant to 1863

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student asks, "What were Gettysburg schoolchildren taught about the battle in the 1890s?" Which imagined source is most relevant?

    AAn 1895 school reader with a lesson on the battle BA Union officer's map of the lines drawn on July 2, 1863 CA Confederate soldier's letter home from July 1863 DA web page about the three days of fighting, from 2022

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Source 1 says Alleman wrote "to show what many a patriotic and loyal girl would have done." How should that purpose affect the way you use Source 5?

    AIgnore Source 5 completely, since any purpose ruins a source BTrust every detail, since a stated purpose proves she is honest CWatch for her stress on girls helping; check other sources DTreat Source 5 as a secondary source written by a historian

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Why does a source's purpose matter when you judge its utility?

    APurpose tells you the exact day on which the source was made BPurpose matters only for sources that governments produce CAny source with a purpose cannot be relevant to a question DIt affects which details the maker chose to include

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Two imagined diaries describe July 1, 1863. Diary X was kept in a house on the town's main square; Diary Y was kept on a farm three miles away. For the question "What happened in the town that day?", which clue matters most?

    AAudience: both diaries were private, written for no reader BPlace: the writer of X was where the events happened CDate: both diaries were written in the same year, 1863 DPurpose: both writers wanted to remember the summer

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Look at Source 5, paragraphs 4 and 5. Which paragraph tells something Alleman saw and did herself, and which tells only what others told her? Explain how this difference affects Source 5's utility for a question about the fighting itself.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 3 says "A hundred and twenty-five rebel guns, we estimate" were firing. Source 6 says the Confederate guns came to "one hundred and fifty in all." Use the clues to give one reason the numbers might differ, and say what a careful researcher should do next.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Rate Source 6's utility for research question B (what it was like for Union soldiers on their ridge when the cannons opened fire). Name its relevancy first, then give two clues as reasons.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Describe one source that is not on this page but would be very useful for research question B and could tell something Source 3 cannot. Give its maker, date and intended audience, and explain why each clue makes it useful.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Is Source 1 relevant to research question A? Judge its relevancy and its utility for that question, with a quotation and two clues.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 3 was written for one reader, and Source 6 was written for many. Name one research question for which Source 6 could be more useful than Source 3, and explain why.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D2.His.13.6-8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.