Category Archives: Quiz

Quiz for August 26, 2017

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About What Civil War Soldiers Ate?

Q#1 – Why was there never enough meat for Confederate soldiers?

Q#2 – By 1863, next to planning strategy and tactics, what did Confederate generals spend most of their time on?

Q#3 – What seasoning ingredient was sometimes added to beef and always added to pork?

Q#4 – What were the most common field rations issued to individual Union soldiers?

Q#5 – What was a major problem that affected the quality of food?

Q#6 – Condensed milk was very helpful in supplementing the rations for the Union army. Who invented it?

Q#7 – Confederate soldiers had more access to tobacco than their Union counterparts. While opposing troops were on picket duty, it was common for Union soldiers to trade what food item with the Confederate soldiers in exchange for tobacco?

Q#8 – What food item did Southern soldiers frequently substitute for coffee?

Q#9 – Due to its wide availability throughout southern North America, what item was also an important source of food for Confederate soldiers?

Q#10 – What was the name of the military unit that existed in both armies that had the responsibility to organize the feeding of soldiers during the war?

Q#11 – How was the common dish named “Skillygalee” prepared?

Q#12 – For Confederate soldiers, how was another common dish named “coosh” prepared?

Q#13 – What was a “Spirit Ration” that during the American Civil War both armies provided to their troops?

Q#14 – What was the name of the book written in 1853 by William J. Hardee that contained the guidelines for providing food rations for soldiers?

Q#15 – What were the three main reasons that hampered the Confederate government attempts to provide adequate rations for their troops?

Quiz for July 25, 2017

Civil War Quiz – What Do You Know About Confederate Railroads During the Civil War?

Q#1 – Prior to the Civil War, what was the primary purpose of railroads in the South?

Q#2 – At the outset of the war, the Confederacy actually possessed the third largest set of railroads of any nation in the world. Approximately, how many miles of railroad track existed in the South?

Q#3 – At the beginning of the Civil War, what action by the Confederate government had an adverse impact on the profitability of Southern railroad companies?

Q#4 – Lucrative government contracts were doled out to rail operators with lines supplying men and arms to the front line of Tennessee and Virginia. What was the payment rate railroads charged?

Q#5 – What were the two key railroad deficiencies the Confederacy suffered from?

Q#6 – What condition significantly crippled the ability to transport troops and supplies in the South?

Q#7 – Built in 1862, what was the name of the 5.5-mile railroad spur built off the Orange and Alexandria Railroad at Manassas Junction to supply the Confederate defenses in northern Virginia?

Q#8 – In 1863, what action did the Confederate government take regarding the railroads?

Q#9 –What other legislation passed by the Confederate Congress had a significant adverse impact on railroad passenger traffic in the South?

Q#10 – As the war progressed, the problem of railroad supplies had become increasingly acute, especially with respect to the already small supply of engines and cars. Stressed by overuse, lacking material to make repairs, and the conscription of men who could make them, where did railroad operators turn to for these supplies and equipment?

Q#11 – What was the main reason Confederate railroad operators did not seek, nor build, alternative sources of iron for rail construction and repair?

Q#12 – Where did the Confederacy get the rails for replacement track?

Q#13 – When the Confederate government attempted to rectify the problem of the absence of rail connections, what problems did it encounter?

Q#14 – What action by retreating Confederate forces further exasperated the South’s railroad capability?

Q#15 – Attempts were made to enlarge the Confederacy’s rail system by adding or connecting lines. Of the three major rail projects the Confederate congress proposed and funded, only one of them was completed – what was the name of that project?

Quiz for June 27, 2017

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Post War Era and Reconstruction?

Q#1 – On May 2, 1865, still-president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis held a Council of War in Abbeville, South Carolina. What was the purpose of this meeting and what was its outcome?

Q#2 – What was the estimated amount of debt incurred by the Southern States by the end of the war?

Q#3 – Southern Negroes were given a promise regarding their ability to own land on former plantations where they had worked as slaves. What was the name of this promise?

Q#4 –What name did President Andrew Johnson give to his post war plan for the nation? He did not call it Reconstruction.

Q#5 – In the years immediately following the Civil War, Southern legislatures began to pass discriminatory laws designed to preserve white supremacy. What were these laws called?

Q#6 – In response to President Andrew Johnson’s pro-Southern bias regarding his plans for treatment of the South specifically as it related to Negroes, Radical Republicans crafted and were successful in getting what amendment added to the US Constitution?

Q#7 – What was the most significant effect of the Reconstruction Act of 1867 passed over President Johnson’s veto?

Q#8 – During the first years of the Reconstruction period, approximately how many US soldiers were stationed in the South to enforce martial law?

Q#9 – What was the name given by the pro-Democratic Party newspapers for the state constitutional conventions held in 1867 throughout the South?

Q#10 – Through the various Reconstructions actions initiated by Radical Republicans to enable blacks to obtain elected political office, what Southern state was the first to elect a black person as Governor during Reconstruction?

Q#10 – How many articles of impeachment were filed against President Andrew Johnson in 1868? What were the three topics that the articles dealt with?

Q#12 – In the presidential election of 1868 won by Ulysses S. Grant, who was the Democratic Party’s candidate?

Q#13 – The Ku Klux Klan is the best known organization that used terror tactics against blacks. What was the name of the News Orleans-based organization that adopted similar terrorist tactics against blacks?

Q#14 – In the Spring of 1871, Congress passed the Enforcement Act in response to growing acts of terror by white supremacist groups in the South. What powers did this Act give President Grant ?

Q#15 – What was the last southern state to be readmitted to the Union?

Quiz for May 30, 2017

Civil War Quiz – What Did The Northern Home Front Have to Deal With?

Q#1 – What was the estimated population of the northern states at the beginning of the Civil War?

Q#2 – The Civil War did not stifle immigration into the North. On average, how many people immigrated each year into the northern states?

Q#3 – The war caused a significant split in the Democratic Party. What two factions were created as a result of the split?

Q#4 – While many northerners were against slavery as being immoral, what was the prevailing opinion of Negroes by people living in the North?

Q#5 – At the beginning of the Civil War, what was the existing debt owed northern merchants by people and companies from the South?

Q#6 – The fear that the North would lose the Civil War mostly by financial default through the loss of the South as customers never really materialized – why?

Q#7 – To pay for the war, Congress began to print money as did the Confederate Congress. However, why was the North able to avoid the ruinous levels of inflation that beleaguered the South?

Q#8 – What inventions greatly improved the North’s agricultural capacity?

Q#9 – What discovery just prior to the war in 1859 provided the North with a source of income and wealth that helped pay for the cost of the Civil War?

Q#10 – When Congress passed legislation in 1862 authorizing conscription and the draft of men into military service, what were the age limits?

Q#11 – What was the justification provided by Congress for the $300 “commutation fee,” which allowed a person to be excused from the military service?

Q#12 – What was an unexpected adverse side effect of the draft?

Q#13 – What organization was founded with the assistance of Mary Livermore and George Templeton Strong to support sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War?

Q#14 – The elections of 1862 both for the House of Representatives and governors in six states were extremely volatile and divisive. What was the narrow margin that President Lincoln’s Republican party retained its role as majority party in the House?

Q#15 – What two major Northern military victories in the late summer/early fall of 1864 sealed Lincoln’s re-election bid?

Quiz for April 25, 2017

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Assassination of President Lincoln?

Q#1 – What did President Lincoln dream just a few nights before the events of April 14, 1865?

Q#2 – What was the name of John Wilkes Booth’s father?

Q#3 – John Wilkes Booth had a brother named Edwin. Was Edwin older or younger than John?

Q#4 – John Wilkes Booth sympathized strongly with the South. A number of historians suggest there were three contributing factors for this sympathy – what were they?

Q#5 – In 1859, Booth witnessed the execution of John Brown. What were his reactions to the execution?

Q#6 – In the fall of 1864, what plot did Booth come up with that did not involve assassinating President Lincoln?

Q#7 – What was the name of the woman who gave Booth a special ticket to attend the March 4, 1865, Inauguration of President Lincoln?

Q#8 – How did Lincoln’s visit to Richmond on April 2 indirectly result in the assassination of the President?

Q#9 – On April 14, 1865, Booth ordered Lewis Paine to assassinate which Union General. And when that plot failed, who was the next target for Paine?

Q#10 – What type of pistol did Booth use to assassinate President Lincoln?

Q#11 – Who was the politician that George Atzerodt was supposed to assassinate?

Q#12 – On April 14, 1865, what were the names of the betrothed couple who were guests in the box at Ford’s Theater with the Lincolns?

Q#13 – What are the two most likely reasons why John Parker, the person assigned to guard the Presidential box at Ford’s Theater, was not present at the time of the assassination?

Q#14 – Which leg did Booth break when jumping to the stage after he shot Lincoln?

Q#15 – 23 year old surgeon Charles A. Leale was the first doctor to reach Lincoln in the Presidential box. What medical procedure did Leale perform that relieved pressure on Lincoln’s brain?

Quiz for February 28, 2017

Civil War Quiz: What Did the Southern Home Front Have to Deal With?

Q#1 – At the beginning of the Civil War, approximately what percentage of Southern families owned slaves?

Q#2 – At the bottom of the Southern economic ladder were 2 million or so impoverished whites; what nicknames were they called?

Q#3 – What employment exclusion of the 1862 Confederate conscription act establishing a military draft was most often violated by draft boards attempting to meet their draft quotas?

Q#4 – At the start of the Civil War, the North had approximately 22,000 miles of railroad tracks. How many miles existed in the South?

Q#5 – As the war continued, food shortages across the South increased resulting in skyrocketing inflation. For example, during the winter of 1864, in Richmond, what was the cost for a pound of bacon?

Q#6 – What were the two main reasons why so many of the South’s 260 institutions of higher learning closed during the Civil War?

Q#7 – What recurring theme regarding slavery permeated the homilies of Southern ministers at their Sunday church sessions?

Q#8 – The Civil War radically changed the role of women in Southern society. What was the prevailing role for women before the war?

Q#9 – The vast majority of Southerners differed dramatically on exactly what they were fighting for. Where were the origins of Southern loyalty planted?

Q#10 – What two actions by the Confederate Congress in 1863 had a devastating impact of the food supply throughout the South?

Q#11 – What type of graft was very common among Confederate Commissary units?

Q#12 – What Union general became known as the “Beast of New Orleans”?

Q#13 – When the Confederate Congress approved printing money that was not backed up by gold, what process was implemented that (unsuccessfully as it turned out) would reduce counterfeiting?

Q#14 – In 1864, in a desperate effort to replace huge losses in their armies, how did the Confederate government revise its draft laws?

Q#15 – During the period October 1, 1864, to January 1865, how many Confederate soldiers deserted their armies?

Quiz for January 31, 2017

Civil War Quiz – What Do You Know About Life of the Everyday Soldier?

Q#1 – At the beginning of the Civil War, what was the “fancy idea” that most volunteers for the army harbored regarding what would be their principal occupation as a soldier?

Q#2 – On the eve of the Civil War, what was the total number of enlisted men in the United States Army?

Q#3 – What was the main reason men fought in the Civil War? From the North? From the South?

Q#4 – At the start of the Civil War, what was the name of the tent that was most frequently used by both North and South?

Q#5 – At full strength, how many companies of about 100 men each made up an infantry regiment?

Q#6 – What was the main reason why the election of company officers was abolished and replaced with a board examination process?

Q#7 – Which military rank in a company dominated a soldier’s everyday life and existence?

Q#8 – What was the most frequent activity performed when soldiers were in camp?

Q#9 – For doctors who served in the Civil War, what were the requirements for them to enter medical school?

Q#10 – How did doctors during the Civil War view infection and the festering of a wound, known as laudable pus?

Q#11 – What was the most contagious disease that recruits contracted when they joined the army?

Q#12 – In some portions of the Confederate Army, the names “The Virginia Quickstep” and “The Tennessee Trots” were associated with what medical malady?

Q#13 – Quality of the food was a major problem for both sides. What was the most frequent problem with Hardtack? With Corn bread?

Q#14 – What were the two main reasons prisoner exchanges were formally discontinued in 1864?

Q#15 – By the end of the Civil War, counting both sides, how many prisons were created and how many men were imprisoned?

Quiz for November 29, 2016

Civil War Quiz – What Do You Know About the War Along the Mississippi River?

Q#1 – At the beginning of the Civil War, what city was considered the most strategic along the Mississippi River?

Q#2 – Which Union commander was placed in charge of naval operations on the Mississippi River?

Q#3 – What naval battle on the Mississippi River in June 1862 resulted in a crushing defeat for the Confederate forces, and marked the virtual eradication of a Confederate naval presence on the river?

Q#4 – This ground and naval battle was fought on August 5, 1862, and resulted in the Union capture of which major Confederate State Capital?

Q#5 – What were the names of the two Confederate forts that guarded the mouth of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans?

Q#6 – What action by Union Major General John McClernand infuriated Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and caused both General-in-Chief Henry Halleck and Grant to totally revise their campaign strategy for capturing Vicksburg, MS?

Q#7 – General John C. Pemberton, Confederate Commander of Mississippi, was suspected of having divided loyalties – why?

Q#8 – What was the name of a river located northeast of Vicksburg, MS, that was critically important to the Union plans to capture Vicksburg?

Q#9 – What was the failed attempt by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to float gun boats and his infantry past Vicksburg without coming under the fire of Confederate guns?

Q#10 – What was the name of the Union naval commander who successfully sailed his ships past Vicksburg as part of General Grant’s plan to land infantry troops of the east shore of the Mississippi south of Vicksburg?

Q#11 – The 1959 movie entitled “The Horse Soldiers” starring John Wayne was based on what actual Civil War event related to the eventual capture of Vicksburg, MS?

Q#12 – Once General Grant had landed his army below Vicksburg, which three major battles were fought during May 1863 that eventually led to the Siege of Vicksburg?

Q#13 – What was the name of a key Confederation fortification that was the main target for Grant’s May 22, 1863, assault on Vicksburg?

Q#14 – In an attempt to break through the Confederate defense at Vicksburg, General Grant approved an action that almost a year later would be attempted again during the siege of Petersburg, VA. What was the action?

Q#15 – Before surrendering Vicksburg, Confederate commanders considered and then rejected what last maneuver?

Quiz for October 25, 2016

Civil War Quiz: What Happened During the Month of October 1861–1865?

Q#1 – In October 1862, who was appointed as Union commander of the Army of the Cumberland?

Q#2 – What action did Governor Thomas More of Alabama take in 1861 that he hoped would pressure the governments of France and Great Britain to recognize the Confederate government?

Q#3 – What legal action did President Lincoln take reluctantly, that was necessary for the war effort?

Q#4 – In 1862, which Union general replaced Major General Don Carlos Buell as commander of Army of the Ohio?

Q#5 – Who won the Second Battle of Corinth, Mississippi, which was fought October 3–4, 1862?

Q#6 – On October 8, 1862, what was the name of the largest battle fought on Kentucky soil?

Q#7 – In October 1862, this Union general was given command of the Department of the Tennessee – who was he?

Q#8 – In October 1863, what event did President Lincoln designate as a national holiday at the end of November?

Q#9 – In October 1863, General Grant approved the plan of “Baldy” Smith to supply Union troops in Chattanooga – what was this supply line called?

Q#10 – Who won the Battle of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, fought on October 25, 1863?

Q#11 – In October 1863, Ulysses S. Grant traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to meet with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton for what purpose?

Q#12 – In October 1864, which border state abolished slavery in their new constitution?

Q#13 – What was the name of the battle in October 1864 where Union General Philip Sheridan made his famous ride to rally his retreating troops?

Q#14 – In October 1864, which territory did the Republican-controlled Congress rush into statehood in order to assist in the re-election of President Lincoln?

Q#15 – In October 1865, which former Confederate political official was released from military prison in Boston, Massachusetts?

Quiz for September 27, 2016

Civil War Quiz – The Battles for Atlanta

Q#1 – What was the nickname the City of Atlanta gave itself during the middle of the 19th Century?

Q#2 – When Union general William T. Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign in May 1864, what was the name of the commanding general of the Confederate forces?

Q#3 – General Sherman’s Military Division of the Mississippi consisted of three large armies; what were their names?

Q#4 – In the spring of 1864, what shocking proposal did General Patrick Cleburne submit to increase the number of soldiers in the Confederate Army of Tennessee?

Q#5 – What tactic did Union general Sherman employ during the early stages of the campaign to avoid a frontal confrontation with the Confederate force?

Q#6 – What were the conflicting reasons that on May 19, 1864, Confederate general Johnston retreated instead of going forward with an attack at Cassville, Georgia?

Q#7 – During the last week of May 1864, three major engagements were fought continuously during that period: New Hope Church, Pickett’s Mill, and Dallas, Georgia. What name did the Union troops give to this series of battles?

Q#8 – At the June 27, 1864, Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, which resulted in a minor victory for the Confederacy, what attack tactic did Union general Sherman employ that he would never use again during the remainder of the war?

Q#9 – In July 1864, Confederate President Jefferson Davis sent what general to Atlanta to determine if General Joseph E. Johnston was planning to defend Atlanta or abandon it?

Q#10 – On July 17, 1864, what was the name of the Confederate general who replaced Joseph E. Johnston?

Q#11 – What was the name of the battle fought on July 20, 1864, which marked the first battle of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under its new commander?

Q#12 – What was the name of the only commander of a Federal army to die in the Civil War?

Q#13 – What was the name of the highest ranking Union prisoner of war who was captured in July 1864 attempting to free the Union prisoners at the Confederate Andersonville prison?

Q#14 – What was the reason Union general Sherman authorized a bombardment of the City of Atlanta beginning on August 9, 1864?

Q#15 – What were the contents of the telegram sent by Union general Sherman to his superiors in Washington after the surrender of Atlanta on September 2, 1864?