Civil War Figures Trivia

1. "You are green, it is true, but they are green also; you are all green alike."

From Quiz Quotations - North and South 2

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was addressing General Irwin McDowell, an Ohioan, prior to the Battle of First Bull Run (First Manassas). Prior to the Civil War McDowell had had little command experience before being given command of the Federal Army of Northeastern Virginia (what would later in the year become the nucleus of the Army of the Potomac). In fact it was Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase who secured the position for McDowell. Chase had served in Congress as a senator from Ohio from 1849 to 1855 before becoming the 23rd Governor of Ohio in 1856. He held this post until 1860 when he was re-elected to the U.S. Senate. Chase did not hold this position for long, resigning his seat so as to become the 25th Secretary of the Treasury. As both a former Ohioan senator and governor, Chase took an interest in in McDowell and championed him for position as commander of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. McDowell took the position May 27, 1861, but was given less than two months to train the newly formed army. Public and political pressure forced him to begin offensive campaigning before the army was ready.

From Quiz Spies of the Civil War

Answer: John Hunt Morgan

Young's raid achieved total surprise. The Rebels didn't loot the city, but they robbed the bank and were able to pass the Canadian border, saving their heads and a large amount of the money.

From Quiz The Yankee Soldier

Answer: 300,000

In fact, the initial rush to enlist overwhelmed the states who were empowered to raise the regiments. Governor Dennison of Ohio, for example, wrote Lincoln that instead of the 13 regiments requested, he was sending 30. Dennison was afraid to turn them away, fearing riots.

From Quiz How Did They Die?

Answer: Shot by a Confederate sniper

What was intersting about Sedgwick's death was what he said before he was killed by a Confederate sniper. Sedgwick was directing the placement of Union artillery and became disgusted when his staff took cover out of fear of Confederate gun fire. "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way," he said to them. "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance..." An moment later, he was shot in the head and killed instantly. Tragic but comedic at the same time. Source: Wikipedia

From Quiz 'Little Phil' - A Giant in US Military History

Answer: Brigadier General

A one-star general has always been a brigadier general in the US Army. At the time of the Civil War the ranks for generals were as follows: Brigadier General (one-star) Major General (two-star) Lieutenant General (three-star) General of the Army (four-star) During the first years of the war, no general had held the full rank of lieutenant general or above, although Winfield Scott was a brevetted Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant was the first officer to be promoted to full Lt. Gen. and then General of the Army. At the time of the Civil War only one officer could hold the title of General of the Army. After Grant was elected president, Sherman took over the rank. In 1888, Sheridan became the last officer to hold that rank in the nineteenth century. The rank ceased to exist with Sheridan's death later that year.

From Quiz Grant - 'I Can't Spare This Man, He Fights'

Answer: The Battle of Pittsburg Landing

It is also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing. The clue 'steely' is a reference to Pittsburgh, PA being the Steel City and the closeness in spelling shared by the two places. Grant's Army of the Tennessee was encamped near a small log church called Shiloh in southern Tennessee, preparing for an attack on Corinth, Mississippi. The Confederates pre-emptively attacked Grant's forces at Shiloh, hoping to destroy Grant's army before Buell's Army of the Ohio could arrive. Grant was roundly criticized at the time for not preparing defensive positions for his army and many called for his firing after the battle. It was also the bloodiest battle in the Civil War up to that time, something Grant's critics blamed him for. In response to the criticism Lincoln said, "I can't spare this man, he fights." Although the Union army had been caught off-guard during the first day of battle, both Sherman and Grant rallied the troops in an orderly withdrawal that ended near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. The Union forces counterattacked along the whole battle line on the second day and drove the Confederates from the field. Although the battle had started out badly, Grant and Sherman turned it into a Union victory. Although Sherman and other generals were given most of the credit at the time for the victory, historians have since recognized the crucial role Grant played in the battle and its successful outcome.

From Quiz 'War Is Hell' (Sherman)

Answer: Scorched earth

The quote "the first modern general" comes from noted military historian B. H. Liddell Hart. Lightning war is a phrase that comes from WWII and the German use of Blitzkrieg, which literally means 'lightning war'. Sherman believed that not only did the Southern armies need to be defeated but that the South's ability and will to wage war needed to be destroyed. Both Grant and Lincoln shared this view but no one put it into better practice than Sherman. The best examples of Sherman's use of this strategy can be seen in his March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. Sherman wrote a telegram to Grant prior to his March stating, "I can make this march, and I will make Georgia howl!", clearly indicating that his intent was to inflict as much damage as possible not only on the military but on the state as a whole. Although Sherman was a practitioner of total war, many historians have noted that the warfare he conducted against 'non-military' targets was tempered with sound judgment. He only attacked those things that supported the South's ability to wage war and did not allow for wholesale slaughter or unbridled violence against the Southern people. Too many times throughout history, armies in his position take advantage of the situation but for the most part Sherman's men did not.

From Quiz Necrolithology of the Civil War II

Answer: MG Earl VanDorn, in Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, MS

Van Dorn supposedly had an affair with the wife of a local Spring Hill, TN doctor named George B. Peters. On May 7, 1863, the good doctor drove his buggy up to Van Dorn's tent, parked it outside, walked into the tent and shot Van Dorn in the back of his head. He then walked out, got in the buggy, and rode to safety behind Union lines. Van Dorn supporters said the assasination was for political reasons only and had nothing to do with Dr. Peters' young wife. Elisha Franklin Paxton, known as "Bull" died from a rifle shot on the 2nd day of the Battle at Chancellorsville, and is buried in Stonewall Cemetery in Lexington, about 50 feet from his old commander, Stonewall Jackson. Lloyd Tilghman was commanding artillery at the Battle of Champion's Creek when a shell fragment went through his chest. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York, NY. Edward Dorr Tracy commanded a brigade at the Battle of Port Gibson wher he was shot through the chest near the front of his line, and he was removed to his home town of Macon, GA and buried there in the City Cemetery.

From Quiz American Civil War Trivia

Answer: Bowdoin College

Joshua Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment held the far left at Little Round Top, graduated from Bowdoin College. He later became the 6th President of Bowdoin.

From Quiz Dying Words of Union Soldiers

Answer: Edward Baker

Edward Baker was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. He loved to quote poetry to his men. He said this moments before being shot which meant he missed out on the disaster that befell his command. Lincoln's second son was named for him.

From Quiz Major General John Gibbon

Answer: He was deficient in English grammar.

Gibbon repeated a year because he was judged deficient in English grammar. Gibbon later went on to write three books including "Personal Recollections of the Civil War" which is an outstanding personal account of the conflict.

From Quiz Major General James B. McPherson

Answer: 1853

McPherson was born in Hamer's Corners (later Clyde) Ohio November 14, 1828. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point and was in the graduating class with several other Civil War generals including John M. Schofield and John Philip H. Sheridan.

From Quiz Great Generals of the Civil War

Answer: Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Jackson thought one side of his body was heavier than the other. He held his hand in the air to even out his body weight.

From Quiz George B. McClellan

Answer: Brinton

George Brinton McClellan was born in 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was a wealthy doctor; George's grandfather was Samuel McClellan, an American general during the Revolutionary War. Perhaps George McClellan was destined to be a military general.

From Quiz Civil War Middle Names

Answer: Philip

During his tenure as Secretary of State he managed to get foreign loans for the Government, but not the diplomatic recognition that had been hoped for.

From Quiz Do You Know Robert Gould Shaw?

Answer: October 10, 1837

Shaw died at a very young age (26). He was most famous for being a Colonel in the Civil War and leading the first black regiment in the North.

From Quiz Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Answer: 1828

Joshua was the eldest child of Joshua and Sarah Chamberlain, and was born September 8, 1828 in Brewer, Maine.

From Quiz 'Beast' Butler

Answer: Jefferson Davis

Ironically, Davis became president of the Confederacy. His and Butler's friendship broke down to the point where both threatened the other with execution without trial if captured. After enduring much criticism for having voted for Davis, Butler explained: "With the facts before me, and impressing me with the conviction that the nomination of Judge Douglas could not be made with any hope of safety to the Democratic party, what was I to do? Yielding to your preferences, I voted seven times for Judge Douglas, although my judgment told me that my votes were worse than useless, as they gave him an appearance of strength in the convention which I felt he had not in the party. I then looked about me ... [and] saw a statesman of national fame, who had led his regiment to victory at Buena Vista, a Democrat with whom I disagreed in some things, but with whom I could act in most-loving his country first, his section next, but just to all ... I thought such a man worthy of the compliment of a vote from Massachusetts; therefore I threw my vote for Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. I make no apology for that vote. I believe I was guided by an intelligent view of the situation." Source: Howard Nash, "Stormy Petrel The Life and Times of General Benjamin F. Butler 1818-1893" (Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1969), 63-64.

From Quiz The Iron Brigade

Answer: The Union

The Iron Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army during the American Civil War, consisting primarily of Western regiments.

From Quiz John Brown - Abolitionist

Answer: Torrington, Conneticut - May 9, 1800

His parents were Owen Brown and Ruth Mills, John was the 4th of 8 children. In 1805 his father moved the family to Hudson, Ohio so to practice his trade as a tanner.

From Quiz General William T. Sherman

Answer: Lancaster, OH

Sherman had a love/hate relationship with this town for the remainder of his life. While it was his and his wife's hometown, the slow pace of life there caused him to become bored easily. He often complained that there was never anything to do there and would cut his visits short.

From Quiz Heroes of the Civil War

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

When Ulysses S. Grant served as president, he served as a Republican from the years 1869 to 1877.

From Quiz Quotations - North and South 1

Answer: Mary Chestnut

Mary Chestnut is perhaps one of the most famous, if not the most famous, diarist of the war. This quote concerns the shelling of Fort Sumter.

From Quiz Corps Commanders

Answer: George Stoneman

George Stoneman later commanded the Federal cavalry during the Chancellorsville Campaign.

From Quiz Civil War Quotes

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Lee watched as wave after wave of Union troops attacked Marye's Heights at the Battle of Fredricksburg. He was disturbed by the spectacle.

From Quiz Nicknames of Civil War Generals

Answer: Patrick Cleburne

Cleburne is considered one of the best Division Commanders in the western armies. He was killed in action at the Battle of Franklin.

From Quiz Winfield Scott Hancock: Hancock the Superb

Answer: Feburary 14, 1824

Hancock's birthday, as many may know, is the same as Valentine's day. Winfield was named after the military hero of the time: General Winfield Scott.

From Quiz Guess the Civil War General from the Quote

Answer: Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863) saved the day at the battle of First Manassas with his determined stand, won a string of victories in the Shenandoah valley, and became one of Robert E. Lee's most brilliant corps commanders. He was accidentally shot by his own troops at Chancellorsville and died from complications to his wound.

From Quiz Civil War Generals and Their Favorite Horses

Answer: Daisy

Traveller is the best known. Lucy Long lived well after R.E. Lee died. No one knows the name of "the roan" or what happened to her.

From Quiz Civil War Generals

Answer: U.S. Grant

At the surrender at Appomattox, Grant had promised Lee that no officers would be prosecuted for treason. After President Lincoln was assassinated some Northerns wanted revenge against the South. In June 1865 Robert E. Lee was indicted for treason. General Grant went to the White House and confronted President Andrew Johnson demanding that the terms of the Surrender be kept. He threatened to resign if charges were not dropped and Johnson backed down.

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