Quiz for May 31, 2022

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Presidential Election of 1864?

Q#1 – Which political party elected Abraham Lincoln as its nominee for President in the 1864 election?

Q#2 – Which political party split off from the Republican Party and who did it nominate as their candidate for President for the 1864 election?

Q#3 – What were the two major ideological elements that fractured the Democrat Party in 1864?

Q#4 – What was the main reason that Andrew Johnson was nominated as the Vice Presidential candidate on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln?

Q#5 – George B. McClellan was the Democrat Party’s nominee for President. What was the name of his Vice Presidential running mate?

Q#6 – What was the political platform regarding the Civil War that was adopted by the Democrat Party and what was George McClellan’s position regarding it?

Q#7 – True or False: The Presidential election of 1864 was the first to be held during wartime.

Q#8 – For much of 1864, Lincoln himself believed he had little chance of being re-elected because of one significant human factor. What was that?

Q#9 – Several political and military events eventually made Lincoln’s re-election inevitable. First, the Democrats had to confront the severe internal strains within their party. Second, Frémont’s withdrawal from the campaign was based on his decision that winning the Civil War was too important to divide the Republican vote. What was the significant military event that influenced Lincoln’s chances for victory?

Q#10 – Because the eleven Southern states that had declared secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America were not eligible to vote, only twenty-five states participated in the 1864 election. What were the names of the three new states that voted for the first time?

Q#11 – What were the only three states that George McClellan won?

Q#12 – Not every non-secession state allowed its soldiers to cast votes in the 1864 Presidential election. California, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan were five of the seven states that did. What were the names of the other two states (Hint: They are located east of the Mississippi River).

Q#13 – Out of the 40,247 army votes cast, Lincoln received 30,503 (75.8%) and McClellan 9,201 (22.9%), with the rest (543 votes) scattering (1.3%). What was the name of the one state that the soldiers gave McClellan a majority of their votes?

Q#14 – Which state gave Lincoln his largest margin of victory?

Q#15 – Which state gave Lincoln his smallest margin of victory?

Meeting of April 26, 2022

Mark Costin on “The Overlooked Conflict, the Trans-Mississippi Operations, Part III: The Battle of Wilson’s Creek”

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek fought on August 10, 1861, is considered to be the second major battle of the Civil War. Here a much smaller Union army split their forces and staged a surprise attack on the Confederates. Although the South maintained control of the battlefield and won the battle, long term the results were more indecisive and more bloodshed was to come.

The battle features familiar names from Mark’s previous talks: Ben McCulloch, Sterling Price, and Franz Sigel, as well as a new major player, Union General Nathaniel Lyons. In addition to the battle, the activities as Missouri splits into fractions after the 1860 election will be described.

Mark Costin is an engineer living in Sunnyvale, CA, working on functional safety for automated and autonomous vehicles. A long-time history buff, this is Mark’s third presentation the SBCWRT about the war in the Trans-Mississippi. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an M.Eng from McMaster University, and a B.Eng from McGill University.

Quiz of April 26, 2022

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Attack on Fort Sumter?

Q#1 – Fort Sumter is a sea fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Was it constructed on a real or artificial island?

Q#2 – Why was the fort originally built?

Q#3 – We all know that the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and eventually captured it. There was a second battle fought there; when was that and what was the result?

Q#4 – On December 26, 1860, only six days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson abandoned what fort and transferred his command to Fort Sumter?

Q#5 – The attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, has traditionally signaled the start of the Civil War because the first shots were fired. This is incorrect. When were the first shots fired as they relate to Fort Sumter and what were the circumstances?

Q#6 – After realizing that Major Robert Anderson’s command on Fort Sumter would run out of food by April 15, 1861, President Lincoln ordered a fleet of ships to attempt entry into Charleston Harbor and supply Fort Sumter. Who commanded this fleet?

Q#7 – What was the name of the Confederate fort that fired the first cannon shots at Fort Sumter?

Q#8 – Edmund Ruffin, noted Virginian agronomist and secessionist, claimed that he fired the first shot on Fort Sumter and his story has been widely believed. But who actually fired the first shots?

Q#9 – What was the reason that only solid iron balls could be used by the Union cannons in Fort Sumter against the Confederate batteries?

Q#10 – During the attack, the Union colors fell inside the fort. What was the name of he Union officer who risked his life to put them back up?

Q#11 – How many deaths were attributed to events at Fort Sumter?

Q#12 – Where were the Union soldiers transported after the surrender of Fort Sumter?

Q#13 – We all know that President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, But, what significant event occurred earlier that day at Fort Sumter?

Q#14 – After the Civil War ended, what was done to Fort Sumter?

Q#15 – One hundred and forty-seven years after it was sent, a rolled up telegraphic message was found and eventually given to a museum in Charleston, S.C. The telegram was dated April 14, 1861, from the Governor of South Carolina to Gazaway Bugg Lamar in New York. In part, what did the telegram state?

Meeting of March 29, 2022

Alan Sissenwein on “Joseph Hooker: Greater Asset or Liability to the Union”

Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker is primarily remembered for having lost the Battle of Chancellorsville. His overall career in the Civil War, however, was a contradictory one, and Hooker remains an enigmatic figure. In the months before Chancellorsville, his administrative reforms to the Army of the Potomac, which included his efforts to raise morale at a time when it was hemorrhaging deserters, arguably saved it from dissolving. Other reforms provided the army with its first effective intelligence service and transformed its often-infective cavalry into a powerful force. As a division and corps commander, he usually fought well, but his overweening ambition and penchant for openly criticizing his fellow generals made him a source of dissension in the higher ranks of the Union army. This talk will ponder the question of whether Hooker was ultimately a greater asset or liability to the Union cause.

Alan J. Sissenwein, who became fascinated by history when he was a teenager, has been a member of the South Bay Civil War Round Table since 1997 and currently serves as its vice president. He has given several talks to the round table, most recently a series on the worst Union generals. A professional writer, he holds a Bachelor’s in history from UC Berkeley and a Master’s from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Quiz for March 29, 2022

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About Little Known Civil War Trivia?

Q#1 – What percentage of the population of the United States died in the U.S. Civil War?

Q#2 – What Union spy worked as a servant in the Confederate White House?

Q#3 – Who was the first black war correspondent?

Q#4 – Who was the only U.S. President to serve the Confederacy during the Civil War?

Q#5 – African Americans made up what percent of the Union army?

Q#6 – What Confederate spy was known as the “Siren of Shenandoah”?

Q#7 – Who was the youngest general in the Civil War? For the person or persons who get this one correct, you can pick out a book from the raffle.

Q#8 – Jefferson Davis believed the death of what Confederate general was the turning point in the Civil War?

Q#9 – What type of pet did General Robert E. Lee keep with him during the Civil War?

Q#10 – What did Civil War veteran John Stith Pemberton invent?

Q#11 – Who blamed Sir Walter Scott for the American Civil War?

Q#12 – How much were Union privates paid per month during the Civil War?

Q#13 – Who was the first Union general to be killed in action?

Q#14 – What Civil War figure defined an honest politician as one who “once bought, stays bought”?

Q#15 – What was the longest single battle of the American Civil War?

Meeting of February 22, 2022

Mark Costin on “The Overlooked Conflict, the Trans-Mississippi Operations, Part II: The Battle of Pea Ridge”

The Battle of Pea Ridge, March 6–8, 1862, was the decisive battle for Union control of the state of Missouri. This talk introduces the conditions in the Missouri/Arkansas area in late 1861 and early 1862 and then gives a detail description of the battle and the leading figures on both sides. The battle is often overlooked but offers many unusual features: Indians, Texas Rangers, a Union general named Jefferson Davis, and phenomenally bad luck by the Confederates.

Mark Costin is an engineer living in Sunnyvale, CA, working on functional safety for automated and autonomous vehicles. A long-time history buff, this is Mark’s second presentation the SBCWRT on the subject of the war in the Trans-Mississippi. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an M.Eng from McMaster University, and a B.Eng from McGill University.

Quiz for February 22, 2022

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Underground Railroad?

Q#1 – What Federal law passed in the late 18th Century spurred the birth of the Underground Railroad?

Q#2 – What were the origins of the Underground Railroad?

Q#3 – What man is sometimes called “The Father of the Underground Railroad”?

Q#4 – The Underground Railroad was not a real railroad with locomotives and train cars. What did it consist of?

Q#5 – There were four main routes that the enslaved could follow: what were they?

Q#6 – The Underground Railroad operated mainly in the Free States. How did slaves get to the Underground Railroad?

Q#7 – What was the role of “Conductors” on The Underground Railroad?

Q#8 – What was the role of “Stockholders “on The Underground Railroad?”

Q#9 – Many biblical references were used as secret code terms for the Underground Railroad. What did the term “Promised Land” refer to? What did the term “River Jordan” refer to?

Q#10 – What facility was deemed the “Chief Place Of Entry” for slaves seeking to enter Canada?

Q#11 – Which Canadian province ended up with the largest group fugitives?

Q#12 – Upon arriving in Canada, what did most fugitive slaves encounter?

Q#13 – Operators of the Underground Railroad faced their own dangers – what were some of the major ones?

Q#14 – How many slaves actually escaped to a new life in the North, in Canada, Florida or Mexico?

Q#15 – Following the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery, what happened to the Underground Railroad?

Meeting of January 25, 2022

Meg Groeling on “First Fallen: The Life of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the North’s First Civil War Hero”

Colonel Elmer Ellsworth was the first Union officer killed in the American Civil War. When it happened, on May 24, 1861, the entire North was aghast. Ellsworth was a celebrity and had just finished traveling with his famed and entertaining U. S. Zouave Cadets drill team. They had performed at West Point, in New York City, and for President Buchanan before returning home to Chicago. Ellsworth then joined his friend and law mentor Abraham Lincoln in his quest for the presidency. When Lincoln put out the call for troops after Fort Sumter was fired upon, Ellsworth responded. Within days he was able to organize over a thousand New York firefighters into a regiment of volunteers.

Was it youthful enthusiasm or a lack of formal training that resulted in his death? There is evidence on both sides. What is definite is that the Lincolns rushed to the Navy Yard to view the body of the young man they had loved as a son. Mary Lincoln insisted that he lie in state in the East Room of their home. The elite of New York brought flowers to the Astor House en memoriam. Six members of the 11th New York accompanied their commander’s coffin. When the young colonel’s remains were finally interred in the Hudson View Cemetery, the skies opened up. A late May afternoon thunderstorm broke out in the middle of the procession, referred to as “tears from God himself.” Only eight weeks later, the results of the battle of First Bull Run knocked Ellsworth out of the headlines. The trickle of blood had now become a torrent, not to end for four more years of war.

The story of Ellsworth’s life is complex, and fascinating, but it is also the story of many young men who fought and died for the Union. Elmer, however, was the first and -according to those who remember him – perhaps the best. Join us and REMEMBER ELLSWORTH!

Meg Groeling has spent years examining archival resources, diaries, personal letters, newspapers, and other accounts to tell Ellsworth’s story. In the sixty intervening years since the last portrait of Ellsworth was written, new information has arisen that gives readers and historians a better understanding of the Ellsworth phenomenon. She has included accounts of John Hay, George Nicolay, Abraham Lincoln, and the Lincoln family which put Ellsworth clearly at the forefront of the excitement that led up to the 1860 election of a president.

Quiz for January 25, 2022

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Union Naval Blockade?

Q#1 – Which came first: the naval blockade of the South or the Anaconda Plan?

Q#2 – At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln considered issuing an executive order closing for commercial purposes all harbors and ports under Confederate control. Why did the government of England prefer that Lincoln issue a naval blockade versus the closing of ports?

Q#3 – What was the name of the US Secretary of the Navy who was placed in charge of setting up the Union blockade of the South and what nickname was given to him by President Lincoln?

Q#4 – What was the name of the Confederate Secretary of the Navy who was charged with breaking the Union blockade?

Q#5 – What two foreign ports were used extensively by blockade runners as cargo transfer points?

Q#6 – What were the names of the three Union commands that made up the blockading fleet and where were they located?

Q#7 – Initially, the Confederate government relied on issuing “Letters of Marque” to privateers to break the Union blockade. What was the name of the first Confederate approved privateer?

Q#8 – In December 1861, what action did the Union Navy take to blockade the port of Charleston, SC?

Q#9 – What famous racing yacht took an active role in the Union blockade off the Charleston, South Carolina coast?

Q#10 – The captain of a Confederate blockade runner could earn how much money for each successful voyage?

Q#11 – What English city built many of the Confederate naval vessels including the Alabama?

Q#12 – How many Union ships of any type is the Confederate warship CSS Alabama credited with capturing?

Q#13 – As the Union fleet grew in size, speed and sophistication, more ports came under Federal control. After 1862, which three ports remained open for the blockade runners still in business?

Q#14 – On June 19, 1864, the Confederate warship CSS Alabama was sunk by the Union warship USS Kearsarge near the port of Cherbourg, France. Despite the superior gunnery displayed by Kearsarge and the deteriorated state of Alabama’s contaminated powder and fuses, what event prevented a possible battle victory for the CSS Alabama?

Q#15 – By the end of the Civil War how many Confederate blockade runners were either captured or destroyed?

Meeting of November 30, 2021

Kristin Patterson on “United States Tax Stamps Used to Raise Funds for the Civil War”

The United States Government enacted its first Federal Tax on October 1, 1862, to raise money to support a Civil War that had been going on much longer than President Lincoln had anticipated. This presentation will talk about the different revenue stamps that were created including ones inscribed Agreement, Bank Check, Certificate, Insurance, Mortgage, Playing Cards, Probate of Will, Proprietary, and more, ranging in face value from 1¢ to $200. These stamps are gorgeous pieces of history with many still attached to the item for which they collected the tax.

An 1865 receipt for salary payment to Brigadier General Lucius Fairchild who at the time was Wisconsin Secretary of State.

Kristin started collecting postage stamps when she was 10. For the past 20 years, she has focused on U.S. Civil War tax stamps and documents with revenue stamps. She has been very active in the philatelic community, serving 4 years as President of Sequoia Stamp Club, 15 years as Chair of PENPEX Stamp Show (www.penpex.org), and currently serving on the American Philatelic Research Library Board.

Kristin has authored two books. In 2003, she self published It’s a Wrap! U.S. Revenue Stamps Used on Playing Cards, 1862–1883. This colorfully illustrated book highlights fifteen U.S. Playing Card Manufacturers. In 2010, she published her second book, WESTPEX – The First 50 Years, about the most successful stamp show in the U.S.

Kristin has also written many articles for philatelic journals, including the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg. This article discusses how the Gettysburg Cemetery came to be and how the union states funded the effort.

Kristin has donated for our raffle some taxed documents (signed by Civil War Brigadier Generals) from the period she will be talking about in her presentation. Make sure to purchase some raffle tickets at this meeting; all proceeds go to the SBCWRT. We hope to see you November 30, 2021.