Civil War “I Can” Statements 1861-1863
1. I can name the soldier Lincoln first asked to command the U.S. armies and explain why that person refused.
2. I can name the city in which the first shots of the Civil War were fired.
3. I can describe the volunteers who arrived in Washington at the beginning of the war.
4. I can name the first major battle of the war.
5. I can describe the effects of this battle on the North.
6. I can name the person who trained the recruits after that battle and describe the effect he had.
7. I can provide the means by which Congress would pay for the war.
8. I can name the Army who would constantly drive toward Richmond.
9. I can name the fort Grant attacked in Tennessee and the nickname he gained as a result.
10. I can name the very bloody battle where Grant lost thousands of men and was first called a “butcher”.
11. I can name the person who captured New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi River.
12. I can list the requirements contained within the Homestead Act.
13. I can name the person who staged brilliant campaigns in the south becoming a Confederate legend.
14. I can write a paragraph listing five things Lee was trying to accomplish when he invaded Maryland.
15. I can name the most significant result of the battle of Antietam.
16. I can give the number of slaves who were freed when the Proclamation went into effect.
17. I can list the two things the Proclamation did accomplish.
18. I can describe how the African-American troops were compared to the white soldiers.
19. I can describe the worst of the hardships American faced and the two reasons for that in order of effect.
20. I can name the two new weapons that caused so many casualties in the war.
21. I can describe how tactics began to change mid-way through the war.
22. I can name each side’s ironclad and what the effect of their battle was.
Civil War “I Can” Statements 1863-1865
1. I can name the law Congress passed and Lincoln signed to ensure a strong military force.
2. I can name the city in which draft riots occurred.
3. I can name the event during the battle of Chancellorsville that seriously affected the Confederacy in a
negative way.
4. I can name the most famous part of the battle of Gettysburg which was a disaster for the Confederacy.
5. I can describe what was accomplished by Grant’s victory at Vicksburg.
6. I can name the place at which Lincoln gave a speech reminding Americans that they were fighting to
preserve a nation.
7. I can list two former slaves who served as spies and scouts for the Union Army.
8. I can name the position Dorthea Dix filled during the war and for what she was most famous later in life.
9. I can name who was the first woman to complete medical school and what she did during the war.
10. I can give the nickname Clara Barton earned during the war and for what she was most famous after the
war.
11. I can describe how Grant showed how he was going to be a different leader of the Army of the Potomac.
12. I can name the Democratic candidate for the presidency in 1864.
13. I can name the person who captured Atlanta and what he said he would do next.
14. I can write the response Admiral Farragut gave when warned of dangers entering Mobile Bay.
15. I can list the two events that turned the presidential election around ensuring Lincoln’s reelection.
16. I can name the victory that then allowed Grant to finally take Richmond.
17. I can name the place where Lee surrendered to Grant.
18. I can write the first sentence of Lincoln’s second inaugural speech.
19. I can describe the way in which John Wilkes Booth died.
20. I can compare the deaths of the Civil War soldiers to those of all other American wars combined.
21. I can write a paragraph giving four significant changes to the U.S. because of the war.