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S h a r i n g t h e i m pa c t o f p h i l a n t h r o p y a t M e r c e r s b u r g
True Blue Support Brings the Civil War to Life
S
tanding atop Cemetery Ridge on the
The moments these students spend on the grassy ridge powerfully
Gettysburg Battlefield, Mercersburg upper middlers try
bring together all the pieces of what they have learned. “You could see
their best to imagine what might have gone through a
that their connections to this battle, to all that came before and after
soldier’s mind before he plunged headlong into battle.
it, were so much more intense because they now had a personal stake
Weeks of preparation have led to this moment. Their American
and were seeing things through their soldiers’ eyes,” shares Academic
studies, U.S. history, and American literature teachers have guided them through coordinated lessons on life during the Civil War. Each
Dean Julia Stojak Maurer ’90. This Civil War immersion exemplifies the kind of experiential
student has been assigned to a specific regiment and soldier at Pickett’s
interdisciplinary learning that is a priority for the school’s curriculum
Charge. They have learned about the battle’s significance in the broader
under the Mercersburg Plan. It takes a tremendous commitment
war and researched their regiment’s role, as well as their soldier’s
from faculty to prepare such ambitious lessons that reach outside
background and fate.
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