Monthly Archives: July 2015

Meeting of July 28, 2015

Ted Savas on “Lincoln and Davis at War”

Lincoln and Davis (Wikipedia)

Lincoln and Davis (Wikipedia)

Ted discussed how the presidents of the Union and the Confederacy approached the war in terms of weaponry and objectives, offering fresh and often humorous insights on Lincoln and Davis, their chief subordinates, the choices they made, and the challenges they faced as they fought the Civil War.

Theodore P. Savas graduated from The University of Iowa College of Law in 1986 (With Distinction). He practiced law in Silicon Valley for twelve years before moving to El Dorado Hills. He co-founded Savas Woodbury Publishers (subsequently Savas Publishing) in 1990 with David Woodbury, and is the owner and managing director of Savas Beatie LLC, one of the largest independent Civil War publishers in the world. He has been teaching legal, history, and business college classes since 1992, and is the author or editor of fourteen books (published in six languages) including A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-Boat War in the Atlantic, and Silent Hunters: German U-boat Commanders of World War II. While in San Jose he founded the South Bay Civil War Round Table in 1989; its first meeting of four people was held in his living room.

Meeting Minutes July 2015

Quiz for July 28, 2015

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About Pickett’s Charge?

Q#1 – What were the names of the three Confederate Division commanders in Pickett’s Charge?

Q#2 – On Cemetery Ridge, which Union Corp was the target of the Confederate assault and who was the Corps Commander?

Q#3 – Which Union division was directly in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge?

Q#4 – What other military action did Lee plan to initiate concurrent with the infantry attack on Cemetery Ridge?

Q#5 – Approximately how many Confederate cannons were used to bombard the Union Line on Cemetery Ridge prior to Pickett’s Charge?

Q#6 – What are the three main reasons given for the ineffectiveness of the Confederate bombardment of the Union Line on Cemetery Ridge prior to Pickett’s Charge?

Q#7 – What was the name of the general in charge on the Union artillery?

Q#8 – What was the reason there was little or no close artillery support provided by E. Porter Alexander’s artillery once the Confederate infantry actually began to move toward the Union lines?

Q#9 – What is the current most accurate estimate of the number of Confederate infantry troops that actually made Pickett’s Charge?

Q#10 – Of the 3 main divisions involved in Pickett’s charge, how many Confederate brigades were involved?

Q#11 – As the Confederate infantry lines approached Cemetery Ridge, what were the Union troops on Cemetery Ridge heard to be shouting at them?

Q#12 – Which Union regiment attacked Confederate General Brockenbrough’s brigade on the left flank of Pickett’s Charge causing the Southerners to retreat back to Seminary Ridge?

Q#13 – What was the name of the Union brigade that delivered devastating musket fire into the right flank of Pickett’s division as it attacked up the slope of Cemetery Ridge?

Q#14 –What was the name of the Union brigade that defended the Union center where a low stone wall took an 80-yard right-angle turn that became known afterward as “The Angle?”

Q#15 – What were the approximate number of Union casualties resulting from Pickett’s Charge? What were the Confederates?