For Educators: Teaching Units & Lesson Plans:

Warriors/Soldiers

Lesson Plan 1: Uniforms and Dress and What They Tell Us

OBJECTIVES

Students will:

• understand the multiple purposes of uniform and dress in our culture today and in the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition
• analyze uniforms and dress in terms of symbolic meaning, as carriers of culture, and as objects that are meant to be read

MATERIALS

BACKGROUND

Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide excerpt
by Carolyn Gilman (chapter 6)

Dressed for Battle (same as student reading)

Both Indian and Euro-American men went into battle dressed in regalia that symbolized their deeds and status. The leader of a Plains war party was often distinguished by a painted shirt that detailed his war record and by leggings with horizontal stripes symbolizing vanquished enemies. On such war shirts, the contours of the animal skin were often left intact as a sign of respect to the animal, so that it would lend its qualities to the wearer. The most powerful shirts were fringed with locks of human hair that symbolized enemy scalps but that could be given by relatives and supporters to represent the man's responsibilities to his relations. "To don . . . a scalp shirt . . . indicates intention to do an act of bravery," said Thunder Bear, a Lakota. "To habitually wear it indicates a brave who has done a notable act of bravery. To wear it temporarily indicates a position of responsibility that may be dangerous."

The soldiers of Lewis and Clark's troop wore clothing designed not to advertise their individual deeds but to obliterate their differences and make them uniform. Their clothing symbolized the fact that in battle, they acted not as individual warriors but as a coordinated group following orders. There were differences in their uniforms, but the differences reflected organization rather than individuality. The Corps included men of both infantry and artillery regiments, distinguished by the color of the buttons and piping on the uniforms (gold and yellow for artillery, silver and white for infantry) and by the design of the hats. The officers, who were obliged to provide their own uniforms and equipment made to a specified design, were distinguished from the men by showy decorations like crimson sashes, engraved swords, and sword knots (a tassel attached to the hilt, made in symbolic colors). The army lavished effort on designing and specifying the details of uniforms, knowing the psychological impact they had.

OPENING

Break class into groups.

Each group should generate a list of people in our society who wear uniforms. Next to each of the people listed above, have students describe at least one key feature of the uniform and try to figure out that feature's purpose. Also, they should try to explain the overall purpose of the uniform.

Have the groups report and discuss as a class their findings about modern uniforms and their purposes.

Discuss with the students if any of them have ever worn a uniform. Ask the purpose of the uniform and have students share how they felt when they put on the uniform.

Read the following quotation by historian Carolyn Gilman in Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide (chapter 6 ):

"No type of clothing was more overtly symbolic than the soldiers'. In both cultures [Euro-American and American Indian], warriors revealed who they were and what they had accomplished— in sum, expressed their identity— through dress."

Students may not realize that the Lewis and Clark expedition was a military expedition. As such, its members took along dress uniforms that they wore at council meetings with American Indian leaders.

PROCEDURE

1. Show these objects to the class:
   • cockade
   • Clark epaulette
   • gorget
   • chapeau bras
   • replica of captain uniform
   
   
2. Use the Object Analysis Guide to direct their analysis of the objects.
   
   
3. In their groups, students should discuss the following:
   
   • What do you think the purpose of each part of the uniform was? (For example, cockades denoted an officer rank, as did the chapeau bras; epaulettes also denoted rank.)
   • Do you think each specific part was symbolic or sent a message?
   • What message(s) might these parts communicate?
   • If you saw a man dressed in this uniform approaching you, what might your reaction be? Think of the emotions you might feel or the thoughts that might be going through your mind. What are the key features of the uniform? What message are those parts sending? Do you see any symbols in the uniform?
   
   
4. Provide access to image information. Have students revise their original answers. Have groups report and discuss their findings with the class.
   
   
5. Next, show the American Indian objects to the class:
   • leggings
   • war shirt
   • headdress
   • bear-claw necklace
   • war robe (depicts weapons)
   
   
6. Again, students should use the Object Analysis Guide while analyzing the objects. In their groups, students should discuss the following:
   • what do you think the purpose of each part of the uniforms was? Do you think each specific part was symbolic or sent a message? (For example, the shirt was a record of individual achievement in battle, the bear-claw necklace an indication of bravery.)
   • what message(s) might these parts communicate?
   • if you saw a man dressed in this uniform approaching you, what might your reaction be? Think of the emotions you might feel or the thoughts that might be going through your mind. What are the key features of the uniform? What message are those parts sending? Do you see any symbols in the uniform?
   • in terms of the overall dress, look at this example (Black Moccasin). What are the key features? What is the purpose of this dress? What messages might it communicate?
   
   
7. Provide access to image information.
   
   
8. Apart from the materials the objects are constructed from, what are the similarities and differences in the sets of objects?
   
   
9. Distribute the student reading, "Dressed for Battle," and give students time to read it.
   
   
10. What were the main differences in what a soldier's and warrior's "uniform" communicated?
    
    

CLOSING

In your opinion, is it important for a person's past bravery to be identified? Why or why not?

SUGGESTED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Option 1
Construct a Journal Activity

Situation 1: You are a member of the Corps of Discovery. To remember and better understand the journey you are on, you decide to keep a journal. After encountering Indian warriors for the first time, you record your impressions. Construct a journal entry that highlights what you saw today and how you felt. Emphasize the objects you studied. Using your historical imagination (based on today's discussion), try to re-create the effect such dress would have on you.

Situation 2: Imagine you are a Indian warrior and today you have encountered the members of the Corps of Discovery. At night you have decided to share your impressions of the day with a friend. You have been particularly struck by the strange, exotic dress of one of the leaders of the expedition. Write a narrative about your impressions or draw a picture highlighting the objects you studied.

Option 2
Have students find picture examples of military uniforms worn today. They should then research what symbols or "messages" can be found in the uniform. Students can bring their examples to class and share with classmates. Each picture should have the symbols or "messages" labeled with an explanation.

Option 3
Interview someone who has served in the military. What are his/her memories relating to the symbolism of uniforms?