Archaeo-Tech: The Port Royal Experiment - Daily Life in Civil War Refugee Settlements
This lesson plan covers the topic of Black refugee settlements (otherwise known as contraband camps) in the American Civil War. In this lesson, students will learn how hundreds of thousands of runaway enslaved people came to be considered “contrabands of war” by the United States military, a turning point in the North’s policy towards fugitive enslaved people that eventually led to the emancipation of all enslaved people in the Confederacy with the Emancipation Proclamation. Using written, photographic, and archaeological evidence, students will learn what life was like for formerly enslaved refugees living as free people for the first time in these camps. Special attention will be given to the Port Royal Experiment, a humanitarian program run by the U.S. military and Northern relief workers in the Sea Islands of South Carolina with the aim of preparing formerly enslaved people for life after emancipation. Students will also look at the Black refugee settlement of Mitchelville on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Lesson Created By: MegGaillard
Lesson Partners: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Essential Question
How did the emergence of Black refugee settlements during the Civil War transform the status of formerly enslaved people and reshape the North's military and political goals for emancipation?
Grade(s):
- 4
- 8
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Activity Handout (1 handout per group of 3-4 students)
Lesson Progression
1. Before beginning the lesson plan, print the handouts for the activity (1 handout for each group of three to four students).
2. Optional: (for older grades) For homework, have your students explore the ESRI StoryMap “The Tabby Wall” linked in the resources tab. Have your students focus on the sections “Sea Island Cotton”, “King Cotton”, “Day of the Big Gun Shoot”, “The Port Royal Experiment”, and “Prince Rivers”. Students should come to class prepared to discuss what they read in the StoryMap, as well as any questions they have after reading the StoryMap and watching the videos.
3. Begin the lesson by asking your students what freedom means to them and record your students’ answers on the board. Emphasize that a part of freedom means being able to make choices, from remarkable choices to mundane, everyday choices.
4. Lecture: Briefly introduce and discuss Black refugees and Black refugee settlements in the Civil War, the Port Royal Experiment, and Mitchelville. If you had your students explore “The Tabby Wall” StoryMap for homework, use this time to discuss what they read and watched.
5. Video: Show your students the video “Fort Frederick History” linked in the resources tab, from timestamps 4:29 – 8:08.
6. Activity: Divide your class into groups containing three to four students and distribute the handouts. Using what your students learned in the lecture and the video (and optionally, the ESRI StoryMap), have your students analyze each historical source for evidence about life for Black refugees in Civil War refugee camps. Have them consider what information each source provides? What information is missing? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each source? By combining the evidence provided in each source, how can we arrive a more holistic understanding of the past? Students should record their observations and thoughts in the space provided on the handout.
7. Discussion: After your students have completed the activity, regroup as a class, and discuss your students’ findings. What did they think of each historical source? What were their observations? How might relying on only a single source can give a misleading interpretation of life in Black refugee settlements? What voices are missing if we only rely on written records? Why is it necessary to consider multiple lines of evidence when studying the past?
Teacher Notes
differentiate: Vocabulary Front-Loading- Provide a vocabulary sheet focusing on terms like "contraband," "emancipation," "Port Royal Experiment," and "archaeological evidence." Ensure students understand these terms before starting the source analysis.
extend: Source Bias Critique- Challenge the group to analyze each source (especially the written and photographic evidence) to determine the perspective and bias of the creator (e.g., Northern relief worker, Union military official). They must identify whose voice is missing or silenced by the source.
“Fort Frederick History” video
View Resource“The Tabby Wall” ESRI StoryMap
View ResourceStandards
- 4.4.CX Contextualize South Carolina’s experience during the Civil War.
- 4.4.CC Identify and evaluate the economic, political, and social changes experienced throughout the Civil War.
- 4.4.E Analyze the economic, political, and social divisions during the Civil War.
- 4.5.CO Compare the roles of various groups on Reconstruction.
- 4.5.P Summarize Reconstruction as a turning point in American history.
- 4.5.CX Contextualize the economic, labor, political, and social conditions in South Carolina during the period of Reconstruction.
- 8.3.CC Analyze debates and efforts to recognize the natural rights of marginalized groups during the period of expansion and sectionalism.
- 8.3.E Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to analyze multiple perspectives on the effects of the Civil War within South Carolina and the United States.
- 8.4.CC Analyze continuities and change in the African American experience in the period of Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras within South Carolina.
Assessments
Use the performance task linked in the resources tab to assess student learning outcomes.
