Civil War Vol. 1

The fight that split the United States begins! Chester the Crab traces the way states seceded from the Union, shows the attack on Fort Sumter that began the fighting, witnesses Stonewall Jackson’s victory at the First Battle of Manassas and steers through the Battle of the Ironclads in Virginia and the Battle of Antietam in Maryland. This colorful graphic novel will excite reluctant readers, prepare students for standardized tests in history and help homeschooling parents!

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Comic sample page #1: Fort Sumter starts the Civil War
Comic sample page #2: Battle of Antietam in the Civil War
Topics covered in this comic book
Teacher Guide

Fort Sumter starts the Civil War

Battle of Antietam in the Civil War

Chapter 1: The South Secedes

For decades the arguments about slavery have been growing louder between people who live in the Northern states and people who live in the Southern states. Northerners believe slavery should be abolished for moral reasons. Southerners feel the end of slavery will destroy their region’s rural economy. Many in the South think the election of Northerner Abraham Lincoln to be president of the United States will be a serious blow to their way of life. But what will they do about it?

The South Secedes includes the following topics:

Who were the Southern planters?
How did the South’s secession begin?
What were the first Confederate states?
Which Southern states tried peace?
Why was Fort Sumter important in 1861?
Which way did western Virginia go?

Chapter 2: The First Fights

United States President Abraham Lincoln is determined to preserve the Union by force if necessary. It appears that is what it will take. Early on, both sides try to capture the others’ capital city. That makes the Virginia landscape between Richmond and Washington, D.C., into the battleground. Black and white non- soldiers quickly get caught in the middle . . .

The First Fights include the following topics:

Who won the first Civil War battle?
Who was in the “contraband?”
Who burned Hampton in the Civil War?
When was the first attack on Richmond?

Chapter 3: Iron Giants

United States President Abraham Lincoln uses the large Union navy to blockade Southern ports from receiving supplies from Europe. The Confederacy must break through this barrier of wooden warships. Would an iron ship work?

Iron Giants includes the following topics:

Which Civil War navy was bigger?
How did the South make the Virginia?
Who built the North’s ironclad?
What ships did the Virginia sink?
Who won the Battle of the Ironclads?

Chapter 4: Terrible Antietam

Confederate General Robert E. Lee believes he can put pressure on the Union capital of Washington, D.C., by crossing to the north side of the Potomac River. Plus, an invasion of Maryland may make people there who support the Southern cause feel bold enough to secede from the Union. Lee can put the war permanently on Northern soil. But what is that piece of paper lying there in the grass?

Terrible Antietam includes the following topics:

Why was there a battle at Antietam?
What did Jeb Stuart tell Lee in Maryland?
How did the Battle of Antietam start?
Who won Antietam Creek’s bridge?
Who was emancipated after Antietam?

Civil War Vol. 1

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