HIS 269 - The Civil War & Reconstruction
Trivia Quiz Part 3: Miscellaneous Obscure Facts
 

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1. Who fired the first Confederate shot at Fort Sumter? (sighted the cannon and said: "fire")
   Private Edmund Ruffin
   Private Daniel Hough
   Corporal Barton W. Mitchell
   Lieutenant Henry S. Farley
   Captain Abner Doubleday

2. Who was the first official casualty of the war?  (Hint: killed at Ft. Sumter)
   Private Edmund Ruffin
   Private Daniel Hough
   Corporal Barton W. Mitchell
   Lieutenant Henry S. Farley
   Captain Abner Doubleday

3. Complete this sequence:  Lee and Traveller, Grant and Cincinnati, Jackson and Little Sorrel, Sheridan and...
   Billy
   King Phillip
   Daniel Webster
   Rienzi
   Bobby Lee

4. To "see the elephant" was a phrase meaning what?
   spotting the commanding general
   experiencing combat for the first time
   running away from battle in panic
   fainting (and occasionally hallucinating) from fatigue or illness
   dying

5. Which of the following statements about Abner Doubleday is true?
   He invented the game of baseball.
   He fired the first Union shot at Ft. Sumter (sighted the cannon and said: "fire").
   He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage at Gettysburg
   He was the only Union major general who did not graduate from West Point.
   All of the above

6. How much was the monthly pay of a Union private?
   Ten dollars
   Thirteen dollars
   Eighteen dollars
   Twenty dollars
   Twenty-eight dollars

7. Who found Lee's famous lost order in September 1862, enabling McClellan to stop his advance into Maryland at Antietam Creek?
   Private Daniel Hough
   Private William T. Wynn
   Private Henry Fleming
   Corporal Barton W. Mitchell
   A civilian walking along the Boonsboro Road east of Sharpsburg

8. Which of the following is a term for a temporary defensive fortification (fieldwork)?
   abatis
   brevet
   cassion
   echelon
   epaulette 

9. The standard daily Union ration was coffee and a pound of hardtack.  What was the size of a hardtack biscuit?
   brick shaped, 6 inches long and 2 inches thick
   tile shaped, 3 inches on the sides and 1/4 inch thick
   round, 4 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick
   a square block, 2 inches on the sides and 1 inch thick
   irregular shaped, varying from 3 to 5 inches and 1/2 inch thick

10. If a soldier in the Army of the Potomac got tired of the usual rations, where could he get something good to eat?
   banquette
   barbette
   cartel
   salient
   sutler 

11. What was the main cause of death in the Civil War? 
   inadequate food
   communicable diseases
   mortal minié ball wounds
   bacterial infection following battle injuries
   chronic dysentery

12. Which military unit was originally comprised of approximately 1,000 men?
   Company
   Regiment
   Brigade
   Division
   Corps

13. What was the other nickname of the tough "Iron Brigade"?
   Black Hats
   Bucktails
   Dutchmen
   Tarheels
   Red Legs

14. These elite soldiers were distinguishable by their exotic uniforms.
   Gabions
   Jessie Scouts
   Partisan Rangers
   Vedettes
   Zouaves 

15. Which Confederate general below, a son of General Robert E. Lee, was wounded at Brandy Station and taken prisoner?  (Hint: his nickname was Rooney.)
   Edwin Gray Lee
   Fitzhugh Lee
   George Washington Custis Lee
   William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
   Robert E. Lee, Jr. 

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© 2005 David C. Hanson, Virginia Western Community College