Written by Marvin Tupper Jones
The idea for the traveling trunk project began when Susan Claffey and I attended a 2-day workshop in Reston, hosted by the Americana Corner and the American Battlefield Trust.
Then the grant-writing team of Blake Lindsey, Melanie LaForce, Laurel McFarland, and I began work in December 2024. Blake was the lead grant writer. The grant proposal was submitted in February, and we were awarded the $10,000 grant in April, 2025. I was the grant's project director, and the project is the Education Committee’s responsibility.
The traveling trunk project started on May 1, 2025. Thanks to Dr. Carolivia Herron, the Chairman of the Alliance’s Education Committee, we were able to speak with DC Public Schools in late September. On Oct 10, we presented our plan to 5th-grade teachers and began receiving invitations to classes. Our first classes began in November, 2025.
That plan was to offer five topics that Alliance highlights in our FSD programs: Circle Forts, Elizabeth Proctor Thomas, Battle of Fort Stevens, Military Road School, and USCTs. We also brought a trunk of Union Army jacket and cap replicas, and gave each school a print package of Circle Fort maps and other photographs.
We worked within the time frame given by the teachers - classes were 40-50 minutes long;
I opened each class visit with the Alliance's mission and explained the five topics, using a PowerPoint presentation. This takes about 6 minutes. Then, our reenactor partners give the main talk based on their strengths. We closed the session with students wearing, in rotation, the four caps and four jackets from the trunk.
In every class, the students were excited about the clothes. Frequently, they asked more questions than we had time to answer. One student asked her teacher to return, which we did. For privacy reasons, we only take photographs from the rear of the classrooms, but some teachers have shared their photographs.
We have praise for the DC school's teachers, students, staff, and facilities (smart boards, laptops, document cameras, modern interiors).
Our numbers:
416 students
25 classes
11 schools done
11 sets of prints given
9 visiting volunteers (Anthony, Bernie, Blake, Bob, Carolivia, Ed Gantt, Loretta, Pat, and me)
Our survey from six respondents out of eleven gave us high marks and worthy comments.
We now have three tall pull-up banners for use at FortStevens Day, the annual DC History Showcase, and elsewhere. In April 2026, we participated in HumanitiesDC's annual showcase at The Arc. We are available to present at all schools in DC, MD, and VA.
