Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a soldier during the Civil War? Now you can have your chance to find out! The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum is proud to offer you the chance to join Lincoln’s Army at the official rank of Private. If you decide to join, you will receive a membership card which gives you free admission to the museum when accompanied by a paying adult. You can keep up with other Lincoln Army members through the official Lincoln Letters newsletter that comes out every summer, fall, winter, and spring. All you have to do is ask your parents if they will let you send your name and address to natalie.sweet@lmunet.edu or write to:
Natalie Sweet
c/o Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum
6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway
Harrogate, TN 37752
The mission for all soldiers belonging to Lincoln’s Army is to learn as much as possible about the Civil War and the life of Abraham Lincoln. Soldiers who are eager to learn can advance from the status of Private to the rank of Colonel. There are many ways to move up in rank!
Soldiers who reach the rank of Colonel receive special rewards!
Regiment vs. Regiment is the classroom component that accompanies the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum’s quarter publication, Lincoln Letters, and its companion club, Lincoln’s Army. Children in Lincoln’s Army take part in activities for advancement in rank. Regiment vs. Regiments aids 3rd – 6th grade teachers in their goal of teaching children about Civil War history by rewarding them for their hard work. Classrooms receive Lincoln Letters for their class throughout the year, a historical regiment as their mascot, and then enter into competition with other classrooms across the country involved in the program. Classrooms receive points for museum activities that they take part in. At the end of the year, the classroom with the most points wins a plaque of recognition along with a free pizza party. All classrooms that participate receive a special certificate of completion.
Classrooms in both public and private schools are welcome to take part. Home school groups can also join in the competition with a group of five students or more. If interested in involving your class, please email natalie.sweet@lmunet.edu for your class’s Regiment vs. Regiment packet.
Tours at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum can gain your classroom 100 points. You can choose a general tour with a special object lesson added on, or you can choose a specialized Passports to the Past. The Passports to the Past tour allows 3rd through 6th grade students to receive the passport of a real child who lived through the Civil War. As we travel through the galleries, students will learn about Lincoln, the Civil War, and the life of the child on their passport. Whether the tour is our regular tour or specialized, the same group cost applies - the added activities are free. Teachers who select the Passports to the Past Tour will receive a pre-activity packet.
Program Coordinator Natalie Sweet currently visits classrooms in Claiborne County, Tennessee, and Bell County, Kentucky. Other visits can sometimes be made my request. In her classroom visits, she will share either an object lesson or a primary source lesson.
If you are unable to visit the museum or live in an area outside of Claiborne and Bell Counties, you can also arrange for a Skype visit with your class. Program Coordinator Natalie Sweet can provide an object lesson, provide a virtual tour, or talk about the life of Abraham Lincoln.
In each issue of Lincoln Letters, students can complete an activity to earn points in their classroom. If they submit to you and you mail or email the submissions to our office, we will award 5 points to each student who participates. Individual students who submit also advance in rank in Lincoln’s Army if they request membership in the individual program, too.
