American Civil War Trivia Trivia Quiz

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.

Answer: Edwin M. Stanton

Stanton later became the Secretary of War, holding the post through the final years of America's bloodiest war, and was at Lincoln's side when he died.

Answer: Red ribbons were used to tie packets of paper together.

There were no rubber bands in those days, and as the daily volume of paperwork grew as the war raged on, with more and more reports required of more and more commanders, the stacks grew exponentially. It was almost impossible to store all the paper. They were tied with red ribbons, and to get to anything within the packets meant "cutting through the red tape".

It expanded to take its current meaning.

Answer: Dan Butterfield

Butterfield was a highly political and socially well connected officer who worked his way up in various positions. His family persisted in obtaining the right for him to be buried in the most opulent tomb at the USMA cemetery. He supposedly composed "Taps" at Harrison's Landing in 1862.

Answer: Cannons.

Confederate General William N. Pendleton prior to 1861 was an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. He became the overall commander of artillery under Robert E. Lee in the ANV. He named his favorite battery of four 24 pounder Napoleons with the names with the four Evangelists.

Answer: Nathan Bedford Forrest

All four of these men had no military experience whatsoever at the outbreak of the war.

Chamberlain entered as the liuetenant Colonel of the 20th Maine regiment when it was formed in 1862, and ended the war as a brevetted Major General. He received the surrender of the Confederate army at Appomattox.

Gordon began the war as the elected captain of the "Raccoon Roughs", a company of Georgia mountain men in the Confedrate army. He ended the war a Major General Corps Commander, and surrendered the Confederate forces to Chamberlain at Appomattox.

Logan was a volunteer in a regiment from Michigan at first Bull Run, and by the end of the war was a Major General Corps Commander under William T. Sherman.

Forrest started the war enlisting as a simple private in a Tennessee cavalry regiment and by the end of the war had risen to the rank of Lieutenant General. He began the war as a millionaire slave trader and ended it in poverty.

Answer: William T. Sherman, Leonidas Polk, Hubertus Dilger

In a clearing atop a hill named Pine Mountain, near Kennesaw Mountain, GA, William T. Sherman saw through binoculars three Confederate officers looking over the site on horseback. He thought that "saucy" and he told his staff to "put some fire on those men down there". Hubertus Dilger, an Ohio artilleryman who first made his fame as a dashing artillerist at Gettysburg, whose nickname was "Leatherbreeches" brought up a Napoleon, sighted, and blew a cannon ball through the chest of Major General Leonidas Polk of the Confederate army.

At the time Polk was also the Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana.

Answer: Washington Roebling, to Strong Vincent

Gouvener Warren sent two staff officers, Ranald MacKenzie, who later commanded a cavalry division, and Washington Roebling, to find MG George Sykes, the Commander of the Union 5th Corps, to deliver the message. Not finding Sykes, who was well back behind the rushing 5th Corps, Roebling came upon Col. Strong Vincent, who commanded the 3rd Brigade in the First Divsion of the 5th Corps. He immediately rushed the brigade to the top and left of Little Round Top.

Vincent was killed on horseback at the foot of Little Round Top sohortly after he had placed the unit, and after advising Joshua Chamberlain that he had the very left end of the Union line and could not let it be over run nor broken for any reason. Chamberlain did just that.

Roebling went on to build the famous Brooklyn Bridge, among other feats, after the war. His nephew was killed when the Titanic sank four decades later.

Answer: New Orleans, LA, and Richmond, VA

Davis died in 1889 in New Orleans and was buried in the tomb of the Army of Norhtern Virginia in Metairie Cemetery, in New Orleans, LA. The original crypt is still there and visible.

His remains were later removed to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA, the final resting place of many Confederates as well as several US presidents. His gravesite still has fresh flowers placed on it regularly.

Answer: Leonidas Polk

Leonidas Polk is buried to the right of the altar in the Christ Church Espiscopal Cathedral on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.

Robert E.Lee, the "marble man", is buried in a specially constructed chapel at Washington and Lee College in Lexington, VA.

Richard Anderson, Lieutenant General CSA, is buried in a stone crypt outside the main entrance to St. Helena's Episcopal Church, in Beaufort, SC.

James Longstreet, Lee's "old war hourse", is buried in an above ground crypt in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville, GA