Blake A. Magner - The Civil War Quiz Book: 1,600 Questions and Answers to Test Your Knowledge of Americas Most Divisive Conflict

PERSONALITIES

Where and when was Abraham Lincoln born?
He was born about three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky (this is todays spellingit was also known as Hodgensville during the early nineteenth century) on February 12, 1809, the first president to be born outside of the original thirteen states. (Henig, 29)

What were Abraham Lincolns parents names?
His birth mother was named Nancy Hanks, who died when Lincoln was nine. His father was Thomas Lincoln. Following his wifes death Thomas remarried, taking Sarah Bush Johnston as his wife. (Donald, 19, 23; Faust, 439)

When and where was Jefferson Davis born?
He was born in Christian County, Kentucky, on June 3, 1808, a little over 100 miles from where Abraham Lincoln was later born. However, his family soon moved to Mississippi. (Faust, 20; Henig, 29)

What were the names of Jefferson Daviss parents?
His fathers name was Samuel Emory Davis and his mother was Jane Cook. (Davis, 45)

Jefferson Davis held what position in the Federal government prior to the Civil War?
Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a U.S. Representative and Senator from Mississippi. During the Mexican War he was the colonel of the 1st Mississippi Rifles.

Where and when was Robert E. Lee born?
Lee was born on January 19, 1807, at Stratford Hall. Lees home was on the family plantation along the Potomac River near present-day Montross, Virginia. (Weeks, 333)

Who were Robert E. Lees parents?
Henry Light Horse Harry Lee of Revolutionary War fame was Lees father. At Washingtons funeral Light Horse Harry coined the phrase about Washington that he was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. His mother was Ann Carter. (Freeman, 6)

What position did Robert E. Lee hold at the U.S. Military Academy?
Superintendent from 18521855. (Faust, 430)

P. T. G. Beauregard was also the superintendent at the U.S. Military Academy. How long did he remain in that position?
Approximately three days. (Faust, 52)

What was Thomas Jonathan Jacksons profession prior to the Civil War?
Professor of artillery and natural philosophy at the Virginia Military Institute.

What was Ulysses S. Grants real first name?
Hiram .

Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston married Polly Wood. Who was her famous Revolutionary War uncle?
Patrick Henry. (Terdoslavich, 36, 132)

Who was Abraham Lincolns first vice president?
Hannibal Hamlin. Prior to his being asked to run with Lincoln, Hamlin had been a politician from Maine. He only served one term.

Who was Jefferson Daviss first wife?
Sarah Knox Taylor, the daughter of general and future president Zachary Taylor. She died of malaria three months after their wedding. (Faust, 208)

What was the name of Jefferson Daviss second wife and how many children did they have?
Varina Howell Davis. They wed in 1845. Together they had six children, one of whom died tragically in Richmond during the war. (Faust, 210)

What indiscretion did Daniel Sickles, later a Federal major general, commit on February 27, 1859?
Daniel Sickles entrapped and killed Philip Barton Key (the son of Francis Scott Key) in front of the White House on Lafayette Square for having had an affair with his wife, Teresa Bagioli Sickles. Sickles was tried and found innocent in the first case of temporary insanity. He was defended by, among others, James T. Brady, John Graham, Thomas Francis Meagher, and Edwin M. Stanton. Sickless major sin, however, in the eyes of many, was taking his wife back after the affair. (Hessler, 1017)

Who was perhaps the most celebrated conductor on the Underground Railroad?
Harriet Tubman.

What conductor on the Underground Railroad was known as Moses?
Harriet Tubman. (Terdoslavich, 39, 135)

Who were the secret six who bankrolled John Brown in his raid on Harpers Ferry?
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist; Theodore Parker, Unitarian minister; Samuel Gridley Howe, physician, freedom fighter and humanitarian; Franklin Sanborn, Massachusetts journalist; George Luther Stearns, Massachusetts businessman; and Gerrit Smith, wealthy New Yorker. ( Americas Civil War , September 2009, 3233)

Who was the wife of Samuel Gridley Howe (one of the secret six) and what was she famous for?
Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the poem that would later become the Battle Hymn of the Republic. ( Americas Civil War , September 2009, 32)

What Virginia governor ordered the execution of John Brown?
Henry A. Wise. (Denney, 49)

What are the names of the four men who ran for president in 1860?
Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell.

What was the name of the slave who sued for his freedom and whose case ultimately reached the Supreme Court?
Dred Scott.

Who was the chief justice of the Supreme Court during the Dred Scott case and much of the Civil War?
Roger Brooke Taney.

Who was Lincolns major rival at the Republican National Convention?
New Yorker William Henry Seward. (Henig, 10)

Who was Dennis Hart Mahan?
Mahan was a professor of civil and military engineering at West Point. His students included some of the most important commanders of the Civil War. (Faust, 468)

Where was future Army of the Potomac commander Gen. George Gordon Meade born?
Cadiz, Spain, on December 31, 1815. (Faust, 482)

Who developed the wigwag system of messaging used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps?
Albert J. Myer, who also formed the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1863. (Catton, 353; Faust, 519)

Who was Andrew Curtin?
Republican war governor of Pennsylvania. (Boatner, 214)

Who was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in December 1859?