News : 8th grade tradition at VSMS: Civil War lessons from Mr. Vasquez

War stinks: Mr. Vasquez demonstrates the odor left by exploding gun powder in a rifle.

A waft of smoke fades as students watch and hear Mr. Vasquez fire his Civil War rifle.

Mr. Vasquez told the class that a fast soldier could fire only three shots per minute.

Double step: Mr. Vasquez demonstrates fast marching.

Mr. Vasquez and Olivia Oltrogge demonstrate the over-the-shoulder two-person firing stance.

8th grade students learned about Civil War marching Thursday.

Olivia Oltrogge learns proper gun holding.

John Eden holds the carbine.

Mr. Vasquez demonstrates the Spencer repeating carbine, used by Union Cavalry riders.

The Civil War began 150 years ago last month, but the students of Alex Vasquez at Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School continue to learn about the war using items from that era.

Mr. Vasquez, whose hobbies include participating in a Civil War re-enactment group (Scott's Battery) that fires a canon made in that era, teaches a unit on the Civil War to his eighth graders each spring. In May, he takes them outside for a lesson on Civil War life for soldiers. Some years, he leads them on short marches. In other years, he shows them how a soldier would pack all of his items in his pack. And each year, he includes the part of the lesson that most students look forward to most: A demonstration of Civil War weapons.

For years, Vasquez has used two Civil War-era muskets to show the students how soldiers would carry and aim their weapons. He also fires one blank from his muzzle-loading musket for each class.

This year, the teacher has a new item in his collection: A Spencer repeating carbine. Vasquez explained how the repeating weapon is able to fire up to 30 shots per minute, 10 times the rate of muzzle-loading rifles. He said the Spencer is credited for helping the Union win the Battle of Gettysburg.

Vasquez presents these lessons while wearing his Civil War re-enactment uniform, which he said is virtually identical to those worn by soldiers from Iowa and neighboring states during the Civil War.

During their marching lessons, the students learn to stand shoulder to shoulder, and they line up from shortest in the front to tallest in the back. Vasquez explained that this formation helped the troops stay in formation while marching quickly. When fighting with muskets, he explained, it is essential for soldiers to remain in close formation.

Vasquez told the students that the lessons they saw on Thursday gave them and idea of how war looked, sounded and smelled. But he urged them to remember the human toll that the Civil War had on its participants.