Civil War Script

Characters:
Harriet Tubman Conductor 1 Confederate Soldiers
Abraham Lincoln Conductor 2 Union Soldiers
Ulysses S. Grant Radio Show Host 1 (RSH1)
Robert E. Lee Radio Show Host 2 (RSH2)

Radio Show Host 1: Hi (insert name of RSH2). I’m excited about tonight’s broadcast of History Alive!

Radio Show Host 2: Me too, (insert name of RSH1). We have some very special guests for this evening’s broadcast.
They’ve traveled a long way…back from the 1800s! Our first guest is a famous conductor of the Underground Railroad.

Radio Show Host 1: Who puts a railroad underground?

Radio Show Host 2: Ugh! Not that kind of railroad silly. The kind that slaves used as a road to freedom. Maybe our next
guest can help you understand. Please welcome Mrs. Harriet Tubman and conductors from the Underground Railroad!

Harriet Tubman: Thank you for having us! Many people get confused by the name Underground Railroad. It was
actually a network of secret paths that helped slaves in the South escape to freedom in the North.

Conductor 1: Yea, we took our “passengers”, which was code for slaves, to a lot of different safe houses.

RSH1: What’s a safe house?

Conductor 2: They were different houses where abolitionists would give people food and shelter before helping them
continue up North to freedom.

RSH2: How did they know how to get to freedom?

Harriet Tubman: Well that’s simple. They knew a song that told them just what to do. Let’s play it for our listeners.

PLAY “FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD”

RSH1: Didn’t she mention abolitionist? Our next guests had similar views as the abolitionists. One man was the leader
of the Union army while the other led our entire nation before the South seceded.

RSH2: For all you listeners out there…the Union was the North. Please welcome President Abraham Lincoln and
General Ulysses S. Grant.

Abraham Lincoln: Thanks for having us. I just saw Harriet Tubman before coming here. Thanks to her efforts and all
the other hundreds of conductors, many slaves were freed. After the war started, I wrote the Emancipation
Proclamation. This freed the slaves in all ten states that seceded from the Union. But because the South had tried to
start their own country, the Confederate States of America, most of the slaves were not freed.

Ulysses S. Grant: I led the Union army in many battles. Eventually we won the war, but it took a very long time – four
years. Thousands of soldiers helped fight for the Union. But when they went to war, they left behind family. A song
was written that showed just how much these family members wanted their sons, husbands and brothers to come
home. It’s called “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”.

RSH1: Let’s take a listen.

PLAY “WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME”

RSH2: General Grant mentioned that the Union soldiers won the war. It didn’t always seem that way though. Our next
guest was a hero for the Rebels and, for a while, it looked like he might win the war. Let’s welcome General Robert E.
Lee.

Robert E. Lee: Thanks for having me. I still get upset thinking how close we came to winning the war. My Rebel army
won the Battle of Gettysburg, though. It was a very gruesome battle that lasted for three days.

RSH1: Three days? Wow, that is a long time for a battle!

Robert E. Lee: It really was. After that win, we thought we would surely win the war, but it turned out to only be the
middle of the war. As General Grant said, I ended up surrendering to his army a year and a half later after the Battle of
Appomattox Court House.

RSH2: Even after the war was over, the Southern states seemed to still stick together. I believe there’s a song that you
all adopted as a sort of anthem of the South?

Robert E. Lee: There is. It’s called “Dixie”. There are many versions, but the tune is always the same.

RSH1: I think it’s pretty catchy. Why don’t we play it for our listeners and see what they think?

PLAY “DIXIE”

RSH2: Well, those were most definitely some amazing guests. I’m so glad they could come and share their stories
today.

RSH1: Yea, I hope they make it back safe. They sure have a long way to travel!

RSH2: I’m sure they’ll be fine. Thanks for listening. Join us again later for another broadcast of History Alive!

PROP SUGGESTIONS:

 Each microphone will have an “On Air” light connected to it.

 Radio Show Hosts should wear headphones.
 Background could look like an old radio.
 Harriet Tubman should be dressed in an older looking dress with her hair up.
 Abe Lincoln should be dressed in a suit with a tall black hat.
 Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant should have on something that looks similar to a uniform (like a blazer and a
belt).
 Half of the class will be dressed in navy to be the Union soldiers with hats.
 Half of the class will be dressed in grey to be the Confederate soldiers with hats.