Project Name: Your Friend and Classmate: Following the West Point Class of June 24, 1861 Through the American Civil War
(Project title comes from George Custer’s note to William H. Harris in his photograph album)
Project Owner: Julia Wall
Project Summary
My project is going to be an interactive yearbook based on the Photograph Album we have in Special Collections, belonging to William H. Harris. Each cadet will have their own page and on that page will be basic information: their Army/Corps/Division/Brigade/Regiment/Company throughout the war and where they went, or what battles they fought, if they were wounded, if they died. After the basic information I want to look into their letters, diaries, correspondence, to see what their perspective of the war and of their life was. I do not want this to be a database of a West Point Class, I want it to be the retelling of their stories so that they might be remembered. My audience will most likely be made up of Civil War scholars and West Point enthusiasts but I want to make it accessible to the general public as well, informing them why these men are important and why we should remember them.
Deliverables
- Scans of William H. Harris’ Photograph Album
- Letters, diaries, etc. of the cadets
- Timeline JS
- Scalar or Internet Archive (for the Photograph Album)
- Picture of William Duncan Fuller
- StoryMap? (I need more than one marker at a time, so maybe another mapping app)
Timeline
Week 2
- Finish write-up of Cullum’s Register
- Start Exploring timeline apps
- Start Exploring mapping apps
Week 3
- Categorize battles and locations
- Look for letters
- Have all Army/Corps/Division/Brigade/Regiment/Company information done
- Work on timelines/maps
Week 4
- Look for letters
- Start on descriptions/bios of cadets
- Start on web design
- Work on timelines/maps
Week 5
- Finish Big Map
- Look into Internet Archive/Scalar
- Look for letters
- Write descriptions/bios of cadets
- Work on timelines/maps
Week 6
- Look for letters
- Write descriptions/bios of cadets
- Work on timelines/maps
Week 7
- Write descriptions/bios of cadets
- Finish any timelines/maps
Week 8
- Write introductory notes, dedication, etc.
- Link maps, timelines, etc.
Week 9
- Finish descriptions/bios of cadets
Week 10
- Any last minute touches
- Final Presentation
End of Life/Future Plans
If I left out any cadets, or did not finish up research on any I will continue to work on their bios/timeline/map. The project will continue to be updated with any new research found on the cadets, either by myself or readers of my project that contact me. It will be preserved on Gettysburg Sites, but other than that their biographies are typed out and saved in multiple ways online. The information will still be out there.
Julia,
I’ve been wading deeper into Scalar today, and I think that the “media gallery” layout might work well for the photo album you envision. See this blog post for more detail: http://scalar.usc.edu/page-layouts-in-scalar-2-media-galleries/
You have a really ambitious project, so I think you will be continually refining the project for the next few weeks. Even if you have to focus on just a few cadets, I think you have a great idea for a project framework. Don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of data you have at your disposal (and data you want to have as well, like the letters); even if you just draw a few connections now you’re building something that has the potential to continue. Don’t think you have to finish this all in one summer!
I agree with R.C. Consider both breadth (all cadets – 32? I can’t remember) and depth (do the treatment you envision on some cadets and leave room to build out later). You can’t have both, but you can do either one well.