Civil War Tourism Quiz | Civil War Battles

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. You decide to begin your journey at the target of the very first shots of the war, at this site in Charleston, South Carolina.

Answer: Fort Sumter

At 4:30 a.m. on the morning of April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by the Confederates. Their target was Fort Sumter, a fort built on an island at the entrance to Charleston harbor. There were no casualties in this first skirmish of the war. The fort is now a popular tourist attraction, and has an excellent museum.

2. From Charleston, you head west-by-northwest, and after half a day's driving you arrive at the city of Atlanta. After checking into your hotel, you peruse the tourist brochures at the hotel and come across one for a Civil War Museum that houses a huge 360-degree, cylindrical painting of the Battle of Atlanta. You can't resist. What are you about to visit?

Answer: Atlanta Cyclorama

The largest oil painting in the world, the Atlanta Cyclorama has been on continuous display in Atlanta since 1893. It details the particulars of the Battle of Atlanta that was fought in July of 1864. Measuring about 42 feet high by 358 feet in length and displayed in a continuous 360-degree fashion, this theatre-in-the-round is embellished by foreground figurines and models that give it a striking three-dimensional quality, and music and lighting synchronized with a compelling narrative of the battle.

3. After an enjoyable morning, you have lunch and hit the road again, heading for the Alabama-Tennessee border. You arrive in a small town in southern Tennessee that has a very important battlefield, site of the largest engagement in the Mississippi Valley campaign. The place derives its name from a Hebrew word that means "peace," ironically. What site are you about to visit?

Answer: Shiloh National Military Park

The battle fought at this site is said to have been one of the most vicious of the war. It was the bloodiest battle in U.S. history to that time, and was an important Union victory. The well-preserved site is now home to hundreds of monuments and numerous re-enactments.

The National Park Service maintains an excellent interpretive center with lots of artifacts, and audio-narration cassettes and CDs for an automobile self-guided tour of the site.

4. After a good night's sleep, you're refreshed and in the mood for some driving. You head east into the Appalachian mountains, finally emerging on the east side of them, in Virginia. You decide to visit the Confederate capital city, Richmond. While there, you visit a beautifully restored mansion that was once known as the Brockenbrough house. What is this house better known as today?

Answer: Confederate White House

The former Brockenbrough house officially became the White House of the Confederacy when President Jefferson Davis and his family moved their residence there in August, 1861. It retained this designation until the spring of 1865, when Union forces finally took control of Richmond. Today, the mansion has been beautifully restored, and also houses the Museum of the Confederacy.

The urban sprawl of present-day Richmond has largely swallowed the site up, and it now sits boxed in by high-rise buildings on all sides.

This, along with modern sensibilities, have contributed to a steady decline in the number of visitors to this site.

5. After your visit in the former Confederate Capital city of Richmond, you head north, to this important site of the first major battle of the Civil War.

Answer: Manassas National Battlefield

Also referred to as the battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the Civil War occurred here on July 21, 1861. The site has been well-preserved and is administered by the National Park Service, as are most major Civil War battle sites. There are numerous battle re-enactments staged here, which are can't-miss events! Incidentally, the reason this site, like many others, is known by two different names is that the south named battlefields after the nearest town (Manassas, in this case), while the north generally named them after the nearest river or creek (Bull Run creek, in this case).

A second major battle would be fought at this same site in August, 1862. Both battles were major Confederate victories.

6. It's back to the highway with you, and you steer the car north. After a leisurely half-day drive, you end up in southern Maryland. There is a very important battle site here, the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. You imagine your next day's visit as you drift off to sleep. Where are you going tomorrow?

Answer: Antietam National Battlefield

This well-preserved battlefield, also referred to as the Sharpsburg Battlefield, is the site of a battle that claimed 23,000 casualties in a single 12-hour battle. It ended the Confederacy's first foray into Union territory, and gave Lincoln the military legitimacy needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

It's chilling to stand in the famous "sunken road" and imagine yourself a Confederate soldier facing a determined Union onslaught.

7. The next day, you take a short drive to the north, into Pennsylvania, to the most-visited of all the Civil War battle sites. The 3-day battle fought here proved to be the turning point of the war. Where are you?

Answer: Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg is the ultimate Civil War tourist destination, and with good reason. It's the largest battle site, and was one of the most important battles of the war. This sprawling battle area contains over 1,000 separate memorials dedicated to the various units that battled there.

There are excellent bus tours with accredited tour guides, a nice museum, and excellent car-tour audio guides on cassette or CD (these are highly recommended!). You could easily spend half a day just visiting the many shops and cafes in the town. Plan at least a full day, or better yet two days, to fully enjoy the Gettysburg experience.

8. After two unforgettable and moving days, you steer east, towards the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Sticking to your theme, you zero in on one particular destination. The event that occurred at this site, the assassination of President Lincoln, put a definitive "period" on the end of the war. What is it?

Answer: Ford's Theatre

Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor of the day. It's chilling to sit in the very place that this tragic and historic event took place, and the Park Service's excellent narrators succeed in making you feel like you were there the night it happened.

In the off-season, you can even go into the Presidential booth where the shooting occurred. There is an excellent museum in the basement, with many artifacts of the event. The theatre is closed to the public as of August 2007 for major renovations, however. Check with the National Park Service about the status of these renovations before planning a trip there.

The Petersen house is the house accross the street from Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was taken, and later died, after the shooting.

9. After your stop in the nation's capital, you head back into Virginia to another very important site in a tiny town. This small hamlet is where General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was finally cornered, leading to Lee's surrender to Grant, and effectively ending the Civil War.

Answer: Appomattox Court House National Historic Park

After a short battle, Lee was pinned in, and subsequently surrendered to Grant. The site is comprised of the McLean House, site of the surrender meeting, and a museum with a theater. The McLean House was a house owned by Wilmer McLean, who ironically had fled his former home of Manassas four years earlier after the first major battle of the war occurred on and around his property there.

He would later proclaim, and rightly so, that the Civil War "began in my front yard, and ended in my parlor."

10. The final destination of your tour is also the final destination for many thousands of the war's participants. You double back towards Washington, D.C. and arrive at this solemn final resting place for thousands of Civil War dead, which was once the residence of Robert E. Lee. What is it better known as now?

Answer: Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery was the residence of none other than Robert E. Lee at the outbreak of the Civil War. It was quickly occupied by Federal troops, and remained so for the duration of the war. In June of 1864, the grounds of the estate were commissioned as a National Cemetery, with the intention of making it uninhabitable to Lee after the war. Today, over 250,000 American soldiers are laid to rest here, representing casualties from all subsequent wars, as well as non-war veterans. Notable gravesites include the final resting place of John F. Kennedy and the Tomb of the Unknowns (sometimes called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier).

It is a fitting place to end a tour of sites of this terrible American tragedy, giving visitors an opportunity to reflect on the cost of freedom.

Source: Author ben3

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Civil War Tourism Trivia Quiz

For history buffs, nothing could be better than a historically theme-based vacation. I took a Civil-War themed vacation once, and it was great! This quiz tests your knowledge of Civil War sites that now are also good tourist destinations!

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