"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

-ÊWinston Churchill.

In the Civil War, neighbor fought against neighbor, brother fought against brother, father against son.

At Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Friday, there was no war, but students were treated to a demonstration, a movie and in-class discussion of the Civil War to help them get a grasp of what the war was really like.

The Civil War was the focus point of the school's "History Appreciation Day." Every eighth-grade teacher presented their class with information around the theme, "History 1700-1865."

"All the (eighth-grade) kids had to learn Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and recite it," said eighth-grade social studies teacher Jerry Jackson. "When they said the Gettysburg Address, they had to say it in front of an assembly. We videotaped them."

Each student was given a different arm band. A blue arm band meant they were a soldier for the North. A gray armband meant they were a Southern Soldier. The number of each color of arm band was based on the percentage of soldiers in the Civil War. There were 2.5 million Yankees and one million Confederates in the Civil War, so more students wore blue than gray Friday, Jackson said.

If a student also had a red circle on their armband, it meant they represented a soldier killed in battle. A yellow circle meant they died from disease.

Jackson said, "More people who fought in the Civil War died of disease than in battle."

Rick Phillips, TVMS industrial technology department head, organized a gun demonstration for the students Friday. Mike and June Yazel helped demonstrate.

Phillips said the demonstration will help "to make (the students) feel like they're a part of (the Civil War) in some way."

He said they will be able to hear how loud the guns were and see how much smoke they created. The demonstration will also teach the students how long it took to load each shot into each gun.

Other teachers tried different approaches to help students learn more about the era.

TVMS teacher Mike Hoyt brought in tools from the Civil War era to show students how cabinets were built in the 19th century. The music classes studied music from the era.

Several of the students said they enjoyed studying the Civil War.

"I think it's pretty neat," said Brittany Jacobs.

Kari Sheetz said, "I think it's pretty interesting. It sounds kind of dumb to fight against your own country."

Brianne Walgamuth said the most interesting piece of information she learned about the Civil War was "that more people died from disease than getting shot."

Sheetz added, "I think it's neat that they can show us the different types of guns and how they're loaded."

Jacobs said because each of her classes taught her about the Civil War, she was able to learn more. "I think it's pretty cool because it's all one thing and they emphasize more." As far as learning the Gettysburg Address, she said she will probably forget most of it, but, "I'll always remember the 'four scores and seven years ago' part."

In conclusion, Brandon Stiles said, "I think it's pretty cool we get to learn about our past and stuff." [[In-content Ad]]