Quiz: How Much Do You Know About The Civil War?

By Media Feed | Published 2 weeks ago

While the citizens of the United States are all Americans, that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of becoming polarized. The Civil War was a defining time in the nation because it went to show the extreme result of a country that is divided. The outcome of the Civil War kept the nation united and abolished the institution of slavery. The massive impact of this war affected the way Americans would progress, setting a foundation for the country we know today. While you may know what happened after the Civil War, let’s see how much you know about the dispute itself.

What was the era leading up to the Civil War called?

A. Victorian Age

B. Reconstruction Era

C. Antebellum Period

D. Enlightenment Period

Answer: Antebellum Period

The Antebellum Period is considered by many historians to have started after the war of 1812. It ended at the start of the Civil War, which began in the year 1861.

How many years did the Civil War last?

A. 1 year

B. 12 years

C. 7 years

D. 4 years

Answer: 4 years

The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended on April 9, 1865, making it a four-year war almost to the day. The year the war ended is also the same year that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Who was NOT a Union general during the Civil War?

A. George B. Mclellan

B. Henry Halleck

C. Willard C. Smith

D. Winfield Scott

Answer: Willard C. Smith

The first Commanding General was Winfield Scott, followed by George B. McClellan and Henry Halleck. Willard C. Smith is the full name of actor Will Smith. However, there was a sergeant Willard M. Smith who served in the Civil War.

What is the name of the Union General who later became the president of the United States?

A. Ulysses S. Grant

B. George Armstrong Custer

C. James Longstreet

D. Winfield Scott

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th American president, and served from 1869 to 1877. While he was one of the leading forces in the defeat of the Confederate army, he also had a skill for taming horses.

What was the name of the era immediately after the Civil War?

A. Enlightenment Period

B. Progressive Era

C. Reconstruction Period

D. Gilded Age

Answer: Reconstruction Period

The end of the Civil War began the Reconstruction Period. After any war, a period of recovery is needed to repair the destruction of the war. America may have been unified, but the land and its people still needed to recover.

How many soldiers fought for the Union?

A. 2,100,000

B. 164,000

C. 892,000

D. 1,070,000

Answer: 2,100,000

There were more than 2 million soldiers fighting for the Union opposed to just over one million fighting on the Confederate side. Though there were nearly double the amount of soldiers on the Union side, the war was anything but any easy defeat.

What percentage of death during the war was due to disease?

A. 15%

B. 40%

C. 66%

D. 8%

Answer: 66%

66% of deaths in the Civil War were due to disease. Both the Confederates and the Union had extremely limited medical care that left them with a 1 in 4 chance of surviving any sort of medical emergency.

Who was the “Angel of the Battlefields”?

A. Angelica Grant

B. Rebecca Theodore

C. Betsy Martin

D. Clara Barton

Answer: Clara Barton

Clara Barton was known as one of the leading nurses for the Union. She also founded the American Red Cross in 1881. Even more miraculous, she didn’t attend nursing school and was self-taught.

What was an advantage that the South had over the North?

A. They had more horses

B. They had better trained medical professionals

C. They were better at shooting

D. They have more military experience

Answer: They were better at shooting

Many of the soldiers in the South had a better shot than those from the North due to their varying work. Northerners often worked in factories while Southerners tended to have more experience hunting.

Who commanded the Confederate Army?

A. James C. Jackson

B. William A. Carlile

C. Alfred L. Baxter

D. Robert E. Lee

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee commanded the Confederates. Abraham Lincoln originally asked Lee to command the Union, but Lee chose to support the South instead. Historians have criticized the general for his aggressive tactics.

In what state did the Civil War begin?

A. Virginia

B. South Carolina

C. Massachussets

D. New York

Answer: South Carolina

The Civil War started with an attack by the South in Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The 34-hour battle ended when Northern soldiers who were attacked in the fort surrendered to the Confederates.

What pair of siblings became divided due to the Civil War?

A. Laura and Thomas Jackson

B. Brent and George Meade

C. Ambrose and Lindsay Burnside

D. John and Laurence Hood

Answer: Laura and Thomas Jackson

Thomas Jackson, more commonly referred to as “Stonewall” Jackson became estranged from his sister, Laura, when the Civil War occured. Thomas became one of the most well-known Confederate leaders, while Laura was a devout Unionist.

Which was the most violent battle in the Civil War?

A. Malvern Hill

B. Gettysburg

C. Antietam

D. Bull Run

Answer: Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg left almost 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing. The Union’s victory was a turning point in the Civil War and inspired Lincoln to write the famous Gettysburg Address.

What fraction of Union soldiers were immigrants?

A. 2/5

B. 1/6

C. 1/3

D. 2/7

Answer: 1/3

One third of all Union soldiers were immigrants. That’s about 33%. Of these were approximately 7.5% Irish soldiers and 10% German. The remaining consisted of French, Italian, Polish, English, and Scottish.

In what year were African Americans allowed to fight for the Union?

A. 1861

B. 1863

C. 1865

D. They were never allowed to fight.

Answer: 1863

The allowance of African Americans to fight for the Union in 1863 may have been the tipping point that earned their victory. However, black soldiers were paid less than white soldiers, and refused their salary for 18 months before they finally earned equal pay.

Which of these female Union supporters was the first woman to lead a raid?

A. Harriet Tubman

B. Mary Elizabeth Bowser

C. Mary Touvestre

D. Susan B. Anthony

Answer: Harriet Tubman

You probably know Harriet Tubman as the incredible woman who helped free slaves through her Undergroun Railroad. But you may not have known that she charged into South Carolina plantations alongside Colonel James Montgomery and shuttled 720 slaves to freedom.

Which Union commander was demoted for being insane?

A. Nathaniel Banks

B. William Sherman

C. Winfield Hancock

D. Robert Anderson

Answer: William Sherman

William Sherman was demoted after requesting that 60,000 men defend his territory and 200,000 go on the offensive. U.S. Secretary of War found the request insane and removed him from command, leaving Sherman nearly suicidal.

Which Union official wanted to send freed slaves abroad?

A. Abraham Lincoln

B. Frederick Douglas

C. William Lloyd Garrison

D. Ulysses S. Grant

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

In 1862, Abraham Lincoln declared his desire for Congress to pay for colonization, a policy in which freed African Americans would be sent to other countries, in reaction to the Civil War.

How much more likely were generals to die in the Civil War than privates?

A. 50%

B. 10%

C. They were less likely to die.

D. 75%

Answer: 50%

During the Civil War, generals would actually lead their troops into battle. This made them 50% more likely to become injured; many were the first to be shot when storming into battle.

How many soldiers died in the Civil War?

A. 18,000

B. 72,000

C. 411,000

D. 625,000

Answer: 625,000

625,000 men died in the Civil War. That means that more Americans died in the Civil War than they did in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined.