Monthly Archives: April 2018

Meeting of May 29, 2018

Abby Eller on “Judah Benjamin, The Brains of the Confederacy”

Judah Benjamin is scarcely remembered today. And yet, Jefferson Davis’s wife Varina Howell Davis stated that he would meet with President Davis for hours every day to discuss Confederate government matters. Judah Benjamin was known as “The brains of the Confederacy.” During the Civil War, Judah Benjamin, Jefferson Davis, and Varina Howell Davis formed a close friendship that lasted the rest of their lives. But when Jefferson Davis wrote his memoirs at the end of his life, he only made the briefest mention of this man. Why was this? And Judah Benjamin’s life story after the Civil War was so remarkable, it would be unbelievable if it weren’t actually true.

Abby Eller joined the Peninsula Civil War Round Table in July of this year. She and her husband Dave live in Menlo Park. Abby has been an American history buff ever since high school. In 2013 she joined Historic Union Cemetery Association based here in Redwood City.

Meeting Minutes May 2018

Quiz for May 29, 2018

Civil War Quiz: What Facts Do You Know About Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant?

Q#1 – Robert E. Lee’s father, “Light Horse” Harry Lee, fought with George Washington during the Revolutionary War. What role did Lee have a Washington’s funeral?

Q#2 – What was Ulysses S. Grant’s actual name at birth and what does the letter ‘S’ in Grant’s name stand for?

Q#3 – Lee was born on his father’s 51st Birthday. What are the origins for giving him the names ‘Robert’ and ‘Edward’?

Q#4 – After Grant resigned from the Army in 1854, he spent the next seven years in several professions: farmer, real estate agent, and rent collector. What was the job he performed on St Louis street corners?

Q#5 – What reason did the Federal Government give to justify the seizing of Lee’s home ‘Arlington’?

Q#6 – Grant struggled to secure a field command at the outbreak of the Civil War. What was the first field command he was given?

Q#7 – Where did Lee rank in his West Point graduating class of 1829?

Q#8 – Where did Grant rank in his West Point graduating class of 1843?

Q#9 – Lee served as a tactical commander in the Mexican-American War under what General?

Q#10 – Grant struggled with alcohol throughout his life. During the Civil War, Grant’s penchant for binge drinking was usually kept in check by what person?

Q#11 – What was the result of Lee’s first military operation as a Confederate general at the Battle of Rich Mountain that took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia?

Q#12 – What was Grant’s and his wife’s reason for declining the invitation to attend the play at Ford’s Theater with President Lincoln and his wife?

Q#13 – Lee never referred to Northern soldiers as “the enemy”. What phrase did he use to refer to them?

Q#14 – How did Grant prevent Robert E. Lee from being charged with treason after the Civil War?

Q#15 – What were the causes of Lee’s and Grant’s deaths?