Students read, analyze, and transcribe Civil War correspondence and conduct secondary research to create introductions and annotations to their assigned letter.
Introduction
In this exercise, students learn to pose questions of primary source documents by reading and analyzing Civil War-era personal correspondence. They conduct research to follow up on these questions and use their findings to create an introduction to and annotations for the letters. My class worked with letters from the Cranston family papers written by Union soldier Alfred Cranston to his fiancée Elizabeth Petford in Brooklyn.
The larger goal of this exercise is to introduce students to research and its practical applications in a fun and accessible way. The scale of the research required is more manageable for beginning or remedial students than a traditional final paper. While students are not required to formulate an original thesis, they learn to conduct independent research and synthesize primary and secondary sources.
The exercise leverages the intimate stories that often unfold in personal correspondence. Students are captivated by the courtship of Alfred Cranston and Elizabeth Petford. My students were indignant on his behalf, for example, when they read that he had not heard from her for awhile, and they debated whether his descriptions of soldiers’ dead bodies would cause her to worry too much.
This engagement with the primary source material motivates students in the next steps of the research project. Students pose questions about unfamiliar concepts or intriguing issues; for example, my students wanted to learn more about the postal system during the Civil War. Next, they find answers in scholarly and popular articles. Ultimately, each student produces about twelve annotations clarifying places, people, and terms mentioned in the letters.
Objectives
Students should be able to:
- Read and transcribe handwritten documents
- Pose critical research questions about a primary source
- Find and evaluate appropriate secondary sources
- Locate pertinent information in secondary sources
- Create well-researched annotations for places, people, and terms mentioned in a primary source document
Context
Through lectures and readings, students are provided general historical context about the Civil War and nineteenth-century correspondence and courtship (see Further Reading below). Students also learn about the collection they will encounter at the archives by reading the biographical note excerpted from the Cranston family papers finding aid.
After the visit to the archives, but before the research project is due, librarians at our college introduce students to the following:
- reference databases including specialized encyclopedias and historical atlases
- newspaper databases like the New York Times and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
- MLA style citations
Visit
Duration of Visit: 1 hour
Agenda
3 students work together to read 1 or more letters (depending on the length). In the archives, they begin to transcribe these letters as a group. They take research photographs to continue the transcriptions as homework.
Wrap Up
The class reconvenes to discuss first impressions of Alfred Cranston and his relationship with Elizabeth Petford. Students also share observations about the physical appearance of the letters, and reflect on the process of transcribing.
End Products
Group Transcription
The group’s transcription is due 2 class sessions after the visit to the archives.
Individual Research Projects
Students are individually responsible for writing an introduction which analyzes their letter(s), researching and writing at least twelve annotations, and compiling a bibliography.
Students receive the instructions for this research project in advance of their visit to the archives.
Blog Prompts
The class blog provides a useful way to encourage reflection about the research experience and to check in on the progress of their projects. See prompts relevant to this exercise here.
Assessment
One challenge in grading this assignment is fact checking the annotations. Final products earning an A grade should contain only factually accurate annotations. Because of this, it is a time-consuming project to grade.
Archival Materials Used
Transcription of letter on stationery depicting the Capitol building, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, circa 1861; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 2; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
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Letter with drawing of camp, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, circa 1861; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 1; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
Transcription of letter with drawing of camp, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, circa 1861; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 2; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, September 23, 1861; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 2; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, September 23, 1861; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 2; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, March 17, 1862; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, March 17, 1862; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, May 27, 1862; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, May 27, 1862; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter with list, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, August 27, 1862; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 3; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
Transcription of letter with list, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, August 27, 1862; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 4; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, January 17, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, January 17, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, June 24 to July 25, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, June 24 to July 25, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, February 10, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, February 10, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, March 4, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, March 4, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, April 25, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, April 25, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Letter about Gettysburg, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, July 27, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 6; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
Transcription of letter about Gettysburg, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Cranston, July 27, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society. click for image
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Letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, September 11, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Transcription of letter, Alfred Cranston to Elizabeth Petford, September 11, 1863; Cranston family papers, 1994.013, box 1, folder 7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Further Reading
Lystra, Karen. Searching the Heart: Women, Men, and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Silber, Nina and Mary Beth Sievens, eds. Yankee Correspondence: Civil War Letters between New England Soldiers and the Homefront. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1996.
Melissa Antinori, “Bite-Sized Research: Annotating Civil War Correspondence,” TeachArchives.org, accessed [insert date here], http://wwww.teacharchives.org/exercises/research-annotations/.
Authors
Used In
English 16: English Composition
Remedial writing class that is part of a learning community. Fulfills first-year composition and Writing Across the Curriculum requirements.
Adaptability
This exercise works with personal correspondence about any major historical event, including other wars. It can be adapted to history and American studies courses at the high school and college level.
Featured Documents
- Click for images:
- Letter on Capitol stationery, circa 1861 (transcription)
- Letter with drawing of camp, circa 1861 (transcription)
- Letter with list, August 27, 1862 (transcription)
- Letter about Gettysburg, July 27, 1863 (transcription)
- Archival Materials Used (left) lists full citations