It isn't clear to me why a child should know the names of the Generals, or of the battles, in wars, but it does seem important to me that children understand the moods of the various times, and why wars were fought.
I do wish too, that children ( I presume we are talking through high school?) should know the books that focused the attentions of the citizens during tumultuous times. We all need to know Uncle Toms Cabin," Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, For whom the Bell Tolls, Grapes of Wrath, and Silent Spring, as a minimal starting place. How can one read The Jungle and then ever again question the need for the FDA for instance?