How much do you really know about the American Civil War?

4.5

If you're like most people in the United States, you probably took several American History classes in elementary school, including a section on the Civil War. So how much do you remember from grade school? Take this quiz to find out. It will test you on some very specific details of battles and generals. Don't be discouraged if you don't know all the answers, because this is somewhat difficult.

1/20 Approximately how long did the Civil War last?

3 years

5 years

8 years

12 years
2/20 Who led the raid on Harper's Ferry?

John Brown

John C. Crittenden

Jefferson Davis

Robert E. Lee

Dred Scott
3/20 Where did the Civil War begin?

Chancellorsville

First Manassas (Bull Run)

Fort Sumter

Gettysburg

Mobile Bay
4/20 Which Union general was referred to as "the Young Napoleon"?

Ambrose Burnside

Ulysses S. Grant

George B. McClellan

William S. Rosecrans

Winfield Scott
5/20 Which of these was NOT part of the reasoning behind "Stonewall" Jackson's Shendandoah Valley Campaign?

divide the Union forces

hamper the Union with unfamiliar territory

keep the Union distracted

make the Union think the Confederates had more men
6/20 What was the main advantage of the Confederate army over the Union army?

better generals

foreign alliances

more men

more resources

stronger navy
7/20 Which battle was the single bloodiest day of the war?

Antietam

Chancellorsville

Fredericksburg

Gettysburg

Shiloh
8/20 What type of attack gave Robert E. Lee the greatest victories?

attrition

cavalry charges

entrenchments

full frontal assaults

surprise flank attacks
9/20 Who was the only Confederate soldier executed by the United States for his actions in the Civil War?

John Wilkes Booth

Braxton Bragg

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Robert E. Lee

Jeb Stuart
10/20 What was the most devastating Confederate loss in the Battle of Chancellorsville?

a third of the army wiped out

being labeled a "belligerent power" by Great Britain

Johnston being fired too hastily by Davis

"Stonewall" Jackson

the capital city of Richmond
11/20 What piece of legislation allowed slaves to fight in the war?

Special Order No. 191

The Command of the Army Act

The Confiscation Act

The Crittenden Compromise

The Emancipation Proclamation
12/20 What was the first all-black regiment in the Civil War?

Army of the Potomac

Military Division of Mississippi

20th Maine Volunteer Regiment

54th Massachusetts Infantry
13/20 Who led the (relatively) famous charge that began the Battle of Gettysburg?

Ulysses S. Grant

"Fighting Joe" Hooker

"Stonewall" Jackson

George B. McClellan

George Pickett
14/20 What was the last great Confederate victory in the Civil War?

Brandy Station

Chattanooga

Chickamauga

Fort Pillow

Murfreesboro
15/20 What did Grant do after the Battle of the Wilderness?

pushed forward to Spotsylvania a few days later

requested reinforcements from Washington, D.C.

retreated and waited about a month to attack

stepped down as general, letting Sherman take over
16/20 What nickname did Grant earn for his overwhelming casualties at Cold Harbor?

Butcher

Mule Shoe

Rock

Slaughterhouse

Tombstone
17/20 We all know (or should) that Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House--but whose house was it in?

James Bennett

Laurence Chamberlain

William Mahone

Charles Marshall

Wilmer McLean
18/20 Who succeeded Abraham Lincoln as president?

James Buchanan

Jefferson Davis

Stephen Douglas

Ulysses S. Grant

Andrew Johnson
19/20 What is the official name of the time period after the Civil War in which the South and the North attempted to reunite?

Abolition

Armistice

Enlightenment

Great Awakening

Reconstruction
20/20 What legislation permanently abolished slavery?

Black Codes

Civil Rights Act

Emancipation Proclamation

Wade-Davis Bill

13th Amendment

Click the button below to get your answer

How much do you really know about the American Civil War?

1/20 Approximately how long did the Civil War last?

2/20 Who led the raid on Harper's Ferry?

3/20 Where did the Civil War begin?

4/20 Which Union general was referred to as "the Young Napoleon"?

5/20 Which of these was NOT part of the reasoning behind "Stonewall" Jackson's Shendandoah Valley Campaign?

6/20 What was the main advantage of the Confederate army over the Union army?

7/20 Which battle was the single bloodiest day of the war?

8/20 What type of attack gave Robert E. Lee the greatest victories?

9/20 Who was the only Confederate soldier executed by the United States for his actions in the Civil War?

10/20 What was the most devastating Confederate loss in the Battle of Chancellorsville?

11/20 What piece of legislation allowed slaves to fight in the war?

12/20 What was the first all-black regiment in the Civil War?

13/20 Who led the (relatively) famous charge that began the Battle of Gettysburg?

14/20 What was the last great Confederate victory in the Civil War?

15/20 What did Grant do after the Battle of the Wilderness?

16/20 What nickname did Grant earn for his overwhelming casualties at Cold Harbor?

17/20 We all know (or should) that Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House--but whose house was it in?

18/20 Who succeeded Abraham Lincoln as president?

19/20 What is the official name of the time period after the Civil War in which the South and the North attempted to reunite?

20/20 What legislation permanently abolished slavery?