Two Southern Mills, One Civil War
- Grade Level:
- Fifth Grade
- Civil War, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Studies
- 1 hour pre-visit, 3 hour on-site visit, 1 hour post-visit
- Group Size:
- Up to 24
- in the park
- National/State Standards:
- Georgia Performance Standards: SS5H1c, SS5H1e, SS5G2a, SS5G2b, S5CS4a, S5CS4b, S5CS4c, & S5CS4d. Common Core Standards: 5.MD.1 & CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1
OverviewIn 1864, during the Civil War, General William T. Sherman crossed the Chattahoochee and ordered his troops to burn the mills, therefore weakening the South’s development. Because a number of the mills were making uniforms and supplies for the Confederate soldiers, their destruction was a hard hit to parts of the southern troops. Following the Civil War, however, many of the mills were rebuilt and their ruins can still be seen along the river today.
Students will understand:
- The causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War
- The effects of war on the North and South
- What happened during the Atlanta Campaign
- How to use ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and technological matters
During the 1800s, the Chattahoochee River witnessed a large amount of industrial growth along its banks. Mills were built and used water power to make items such as cotton, wool, paper, tenting, roping, flannels, and yarn. Many of these goods were sent to the main railroad line in Atlanta, where they could be shipped to other parts of the country. The mills were an important part of Atlanta’s industry, and the river was an important part in keeping the mills running.
In 1864, during the Civil War, General William T. Sherman crossed the Chattahoochee River and ordered his troops to burn the mills, therefore weakening the South’s development. Because a number of the mills were making uniforms and supplies for the Confederate soldiers, their destruction was a hard hit to parts of the southern troops. Following the Civil War, however, many of the mills were rebuilt and their ruins can still be seen along the river today.
Two industrially important mills along the Chattahoochee River were the Marietta Paper Mill at Sope Creek and the Ivy Woolen Mill at the mouth of Vickery Creek. Let’s take a closer look at each of these mills and see how they were run back in the 1800s.
- Water Wheel Science Connection
- Interpretive Guide for Vickery Creek Mills
- Roswell Mills Math Warm-up
- Roswell Mills Different Perspectives Worksheet
- Interpretive Guide For Sope Creek Mill
- Marietta Paper Mill Warm-up
- Marietta Paper Mill Different Perspective Worksheet
- Memories of a Teenage Girl
- Railroads of the Confederacy Map, 1861
- Railroads of the United States Map, 1870
- Atlanta Area reading
- Battle of Atlanta Map, 1864
- Eyewitness Report Rubric
- Introduce the lesson with a guided student analysis of the drawing entitled The Sixteenth Army Corps Fording the Chattahoochee at Roswell’s Ferry, July 19th, 1864.
- Discuss the 4 basic needs of humans
- Discuss how in the 1860s obtaining these needs were different than today.
- Discuss the importance of transportation during the war.
- Discuss the importance of railroads to the military commanders during the Civil War.
- Leave students with a reading of Atlanta Area.
- Tour various sites and record on graphic organizer ways that you would be feeling if you were one of the following characters:
- Confederate Soldier-defending Atlanta
- Civilian-mill worker, farmer
- Union Soldier-Attacking Atlanta
Eyewitness Report from different perspectives
- Discuss Atlanta Campaign
- Discuss what an Eyewitness Report is
- Read “Memories of a Teenage Girl”
- Write Eyewitness Reports using Rubric as a guide
Students will write an eyewitness report from the perspective of a person involved in the Atlanta Campaign. A rubric is included.
Pretend that you are a slave, mill worker, Union soldier or Confederate soldier. Write a letter to a loved one describing the events that occurred. Use factual information but include your perspective of the events.
This lesson connects to the park because it is a Civil War park. The students will be able to visit actual historical Civil War locations.
STEM: Students could research how buildings were constructed by slave labor. They could use fire records to recreate a scale model of the Ivy Woolen Mill or the Marietta Paper Mill.
“Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and the Importance of Railroads” http://www.kennesaw.edu/civilwarera/lessonplans/6-8/sherman_railroads.pdf
Civil War Series, The Campaign for Atlanta http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/7/sec6.htm
CIVIL WAR MATH - firstname.lastname@example.org
The Water Wheel http://www.technologystudent.com/energy1/wtrwhl1.htm
Sope Creek Manufacturing Complex by Everett E. Bronski, Jr. Georgia Institute of Technology
March 10, 1978