United States (US) Civil War: History Quiz
72
Commonly-Known and Arcane Civil War Facts
Here's a quiz based on some standard U. S. Civil War facts, plus some rather arcane ones.
The answers to the quiz are listed at the end of the article.
Scoring
0 - 3 answers right: Turn in your musket.
4 - 5 answers right: Average.
6 - 9 answers right: Good work, soldier.
10 - 12 answers right: You're awesome!
13 answers right: You cheated!!!!
1.
Union General Lew Wallace was one of General Grant's six division commanders at the Battle of Shiloh. What famous novel did Wallace later write?
A. Sunset Boulevard
B. A Tale of Two Cities
C. Ben Hur
D. Mutiny on the Bounty
2.
How many blacks served as armed troops for the Confederacy?
A. None, there were no blacks in the Confederate army
B. None, blacks only served as laborers in the Confederate army
C. Two companies
D. Two divisions
3.
Union General Benjamin Butler, commander of the union occupation forces in New Orleans, distressed at insults directed by women at Union troops, issued General Order No. 28. It said that any such women...
A. ...could be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation
B. ...could be spit upon and chased down the street
C. ...could be jailed for up to 30 days
D. ...could be banished from New Orleans
4.
Two Confederate warships were built in Liverpool by the British. They sank or captured over 100 Union ships during the war. They were...
A. ...the Southern Cross and the Robert E. Lee
B. ...the North Carolina and the Mississippi
C. ...the Alabama and the Florida
D. ...the Richmond and the Charleston
5.
The number of Jewish men who served in the Confederate army was...
A. ...zero
B. ...about 100
C. ...500 to 1000
D. ...6,000 to 10,000
6.
What was the name of the Confederate ironclad that sank two Union warships on one day — the worst single day defeat for the U.S. Navy until Pearl Harbor in 1941?
A. Titanic
B. Merrimac
C. Virginia
D. Stonewall Jackson
7.
What was the Union weapon that Confederate troops complained that Union troops could "load on Sunday and shoot all week"?
A. the Springfield rifle
B. the Henry Rifle
C. the Winchester Rifle
D. the M-16 rifle
8.
One of the only two military persons who were executed for war crimes after the U.S. Civil War was Henry Wirz, commander of the notorious Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia. Wirz wasn't born in the U.S. — what country did he come from?
A. Germany
B. Switzerland
C. Sweden
D. Britain
9.
What tune did Abraham Lincoln have the Marine Band play upon hearing of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox?
A. The Star Spangled Banner
B. God Save the Queen
C. Dixie
D. The Battle Hymn of the Republic
10.
What innovative Confederate weapon was used to sink the Union warship U.S.S. Housatonic?
A. A surface-to-surface missile
B. A submarine
C. A flying drone airplane
D. A long-range cannon
11.
The person who wrote out the surrender document at Appomattox was...
A. ...a black person
B. ...an American Indian
C. ...a white person
D. ...an Hispanic person
12.
Before the war, Confederate General A.P. Hill proposed marriage to Ellen Marcy. Whom did she later marry?
A. Jefferson Davis
B. Abraham Lincoln
C. Confederate General A.P. Hill
D. Union General George McClellan
13.
Union officer Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski commanded New York State troops at the Battle of Gettysburg. The senate refused to agree to promote to him general because...
A. ...his loyalty was suspect
B. ...his leadership in battle was poor
C. ...they couldn't pronounce his name
D. ...he insulted Mrs. Lincoln at a party
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The answers to the questions are listed below. How well did you do?
The Quiz Answers
Question
| Answer
|
|---|---|
1
| C
|
2
| C
|
3
| A
|
4
| C
|
5
| D
|
6
| C
|
7
| B
|
8
| B
|
9
| C
|
10
| B
|
11
| B
|
12
| D
|
13
| C
|
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- Useful (5)
- Funny (2)
- Awesome (3)
- Beautiful (2)
- Interesting (7)
CommentsLoading...
I'm glad you enjoyed the quiz, Thomas. I decided to write what was, for me, a different type of article. We have several Civil War books in our house, so I had alot of reference material to use.
I really like question no. 12. Don't you think Ellen Marcy could have started another war?
...hey that ain't no fair gal - me is from Canada - we had our own civil wars - lol lol - but all kidding aside - ya know where this one is heading - my Facebook page naturally yee haw - and I love this novel idea of yours - one of my favorite documentaries of all time as you are probably aware of is Ken Burn's Civil War series on PBS - excellent - and if ya want to know who da man is - that's easy and he's my good buddy and historian in residence at the Hub and his name is ALASTAR PACKER and tell him I sent ya - lake erie time ontario canada 11:12pm from ballet, opera, classical music to the civil war and everything inbetween you cover it all girl - just like my eclectic writing style - lol
..actually four other great Americans I would recommend and they're all good hub buddies:
1. Wayne Brown
2. The Man with no pants (awesome)
3. Will Starr
4. Dexter Yarborough
Thomas ole boy- 10 makes awesome! by a hair. Misses: 7, 12 and 13. Thanks Mr. Epi! Bestis quiz Daisy.
Colin / Epi / Poet Laureate of HubPages,
Thanks for stopping by. You're always welcome to visit my Hubs, as you know. Thanks, also, for suggesting I check out your friends' Hubs. Will has commented in one of my other Hubs, and Dexter is a Facebook friend of mine. I haven't met your other friends yet.
And, thanks for posting a link on your Facebook wall. It is very much appreciated.
Alastar,
It's a pleasure to meet you. You did great on the quiz! We've got to get our friend Colin to take the quiz, don't you agree?
haha! Yes indeed Daisy. Colin is such a great fellow lets give him a handicap too!
Man Daisy - I am not even going to give you my score! lol I love history but I don't remember a whole bunch about the civil war. It is really interesting - I am surprised you stumped Alastar on a couple:) lol
...there are men .....yes ..but Alastar is the MAN!!!!
..and oh geez .... mine eyes have just seen a pretty woman ...Miss K who is some kind of housewife!!!!!!
Alastar,
One of Colin's favorite PBS series is Ken Burns' Civil War. So, he probably knows a lot about the subject. But, he is a Canadian, so maybe we should give him a handicap.
...it's funny about that because as a kid growing up I knew more about your country than you probably did of ours - quick quiz: who is our prime minister and no you can't use the internet - lol - and what is the capital city of Canada - no internet again? lol
And Obama ? well love him or hate him - for better or for worse I will bet any American here at the Hub that he will get in again for another term - no problem - why?
Because the Republicans have failed , thus far, to come up with a young dynamic candidate .....
lake erie time with a full moon and a gloriously raunchy album by Aerosmith called Honking on Bobo (blues, baby, the blues) and it's 1:03am
Kelly,
Since I grew up in New Jersey, I actually know more about the Revolutionary War than I do about the Civil War. We have two copies of Battle Cry of Freedom in our house, one paperback and one electronic. My boyfriend is continually saying "I have to tell you something interesting I read in the McPherson book." His being a Civil War buff is what got me interested in the subject.
Colin,
I'm one for two...Ottawa, Ontario...
.......very nice, very nice .......
..we have to work on making this the longest hub scroll of modern times - because it sure looks like my new piece ain't gonna gain any ground - the content seems to be scaring people off - lol - but did you know this was the first major war to be ever photographed?
Damnit! 12! I got 12. Would have been 13, but I really thought he insulted Mary Todd Lincoln. LOL!
Golly, so far I am the dummy in the group with a 6. I must say I didn't like history in high school or college. Humans are so mean.. lol. I have lived in 7 different states all my life and was mostly raised in Pennsylvania. When I moved to the Carolinas I was told I was a damn yankee because I have stayed. People from the north and the south always try to get me to pick a side.. Yankee or Confederate. The best I can tell people is I am an American.. lol.
I also vote that Epi gets moved to the front of the class.. just for being so sweet!
LOL, Tammy, I always pick a side. Since I'm from NJ, I pick the side that WON. Living in Virginia is very interesting for a northerner!
Colin,
Mathew Brady was the most famous of the Civil War photographers. What I find really interesting is that people used to bring picnics and sit and watch the battles. Have you seen any of those photographs?
Tammy,
Were you born in the North? I'm not asking you to divulge your age, but...have you lived more years in the North or the South?
Everyone,
It's my quiz, so I make the rules...If you're a Northerner, you receive a one-point handicap.
Dave,
You're a Northerner, so with one point added, you now have a score of 13...with an asterisk next to it, however.
Dave: 13*
Hahah, awesomeness!
Colin / Epi / Poet Laureate of HubPages,
You're a Northerner, too. If you decide to take the quiz, you start with a score of 1.
This is a fantastic hub idea. Okay I took the quiz and did so badly that I am too embarrassed to say what I scored, but I did get a couple right :)
Susan,
I saw your score posted on Facebook, so I won't mention it here. Since you're from Canada, you receive one-point added to your score for being a Northerner.
I am an American Historian, but I did pretty bad on your quiz! I have my accuses, such as that I mostly studied the reasons behind war and the social stuff and I don't really like the actual art of war, but they are just excuses. This was fabulous. Although I wish you would have included some more social aspects to the war ;-) I'm just joking with you, but in all seriousness you really can't fully understand any historical event if you do not understand the social aspects. That is not a criticism of your great quiz, but just a statement on why I study history the way that I do. Fun, entertaining, and very interesting :-)
Mythicalstorm -
The social aspects too are fascinating: the divide between the aristocratic slave owners and poor southern whites who did the fighting, the northerners who fought for the south and southerners who fought for the north, sons and fathers on opposite sides, brothers on opposite sides, the new york city draft riots by irish immigrants, a few hundred women disguising themselves as men and joining the armies of both sides - it goes on and on.
I got zero!! Woot!! Not a history buff!! My husband got 6 and he's a civil war fan...tough questions. Good hub!!
I'm glad you both enjoyed the quiz, Sunshine. Has your husband read McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era? It's a great book. The paperback version we have was falling apart, so I just bought the e-book version.
Hi Daisy! Boy did I learn a great deal from this terrific hub! I did get 10 correct by mostly guessing. Now I know for sure. This was educational and a great deal of fun! Voted up, up and away!
Dexter,
Thanks so much for commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed my quiz. It was a lot of fun writing it.
I'm thinking of doing another quiz. What do you think about my alternating between the type of Hub I usually write and a quiz?
Hi Daisy! I think that would be a great idea. For example, your hub on bad drivers was so real, yet hilarious - because it is true! To follow up with a fun, educational quiz (like this present one) would certainly keep your readers coming back for more. You can count on me to check them out!
Thanks for your support, Dexter. I was thinking about writing a US geography quiz...interesting, yet fun, facts presented in the form of quiz questions.
I finished with a 6. How fun! And I thought I really knew my history. lolo! I had better start reading more. :)
I like how you laid out the hub. Great job. Voted up.
AEvans,
I'm glad you enjoyed the quiz. If you want to do well on my next quiz, you might want to read a U.S. geography book and study a map.
I'm currently writing a U.S. geography quiz. There's one person already bragging that he's going to do extremely well on that quiz, so I'm going to have to come up with some really tough questions.
Ian,
Thanks for commenting on the formatting of my Hub. I tried using the quiz capsule, which has some very nice features, but it has a limitation for the length of a question. Some of my questions were cut off because they contained too many characters. For that reason, I switched to the text capsule.
I see the point. We keep working on it and find out as we move on. I am still struggling to unnderstand RSS. Still researching. Happy hubbing.
I managed to eke out a five on the quiz - not bad for a Canadian whose only ever seen a few movies and an excellent PBS miniseries.
RedElf,
I'm giving a one-point handicap to Northerners, and that includes Canadians...so your score is now 6*.
How do you think you'll do on a U.S. geography quiz?
Yikes! Daisy - this was a toughie for me and my lips are sealed! I'm going to have my husband give it a try. He is a history buff.
I enjoyed the hub! Now I need to brush up on my skills!
Thank you for sharing :)
Miss Olive,
Don't feel bad. One person posted on Facebook that they missed all the questions.
I've been working on a US geography quiz. I'm determined to finish that Hub very soon. That way, I will have accomplished my own 30 Hub challenge...in 60 days.
This is an awesome Hub Daisy! I am FAR from a civil war expert, I am ashamed to admit. But I gave it my best and I will NOT tell my score hahah I love the layout you chose
I'm glad you enjoyed the quiz, Ardie. Don't feel bad about your score. A few of the questions were rather obscure.
It took me a while to figure out a good layout for the quiz. I tried using the quiz capsule, but there's a limit to the number of characters a question can have, and some of mine were too long.
Each question is in its own text capsule. The answers are all in one table capsule.
Well, at least I don't have to turn in my musket! I made it into the Average category (just barely). I love the quiz format. As imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I hope you won't mind if I use this format on some of my hubs. I'll credit you as having inspired the format, and include a link to one of your quizzes.
Doc Sonic,
It's very nice to meet you. Thanks for taking this quiz.
My all means, use the format. And thanks for linking to one of my quizzes. I appreciate it.
By the way, have you taken any of my geography quizzes?
7 right...I need to go to sleep now and rest my weary mind after that quiz...great questions.
Bill,
Change your score to 8. I've been giving Northerners an extra point.
As the holder of a B.A. in History I am again shamed by one of your quizzes, 9 of 13. A fun quiz though.
rlbert00,
Thanks for taking another one of my quizzes. Some of the questions on this quiz were a bit more obscure than those on my geography quizzes.
Have you read the Pulitizer prize winning "Battle Cry of Freedom..."? I got my idea for some of the questions from that book.
I haven't read that one. I own it but have not opened it to this point...certainly sounds like I should.
rlbert00,
The paper version of "Battle Cry of Freedom..." that's in my household was falling apart, due to its being handled so much. I recently purchased the e-book version for our Kindles.
Now as many specials and documentaries I've seen on the civil war, I thought I would have a better score! Great hub though! Very informative!
Sam,
Thanks for taking my history quiz. I appreciate it.
Have you taken any of my geography quizzes? I've written seven of those so far.
Daisy...good hub...voted up, useful, interesting. I knew reading 408 books/363 Civil War articles while researching my book would come in handy. Missed #2 completely, changed my answer on #13, so 11 was the score. Oh, "merrimac" and "virginia" on the same question was nasty but a good separator of contestants! ;)
Civil War Bob,
It's nice to meet you! Thanks for taking my quiz. I would be very happy to add a link to one of your Civil War Hubs. Which article would you like me to mention?
Thanks, Daisy. I guess the one I wrote yesterday, "Is It Odd That Civil War Bob Observes Civil War Oddities?" would be the most appropriate. Have a great day!
Civil War Bob,
Thanks for visiting again. I'll add the link.
ThoughtSandwiches Level 7 Commenter 4 months ago
Hi daisy...
This was a fun quiz. I thought I would know more than I did. I didn't...I finished with a 7!
Thanks,
Thomas