Small Talk-Trivia

Small Talk — May 2017

By Stephen Davis · Originally published May 2017 · pp. 33–44

Let’s have some fun with Civil War trivia. Here are ten head-scratchers. Answers will be found on page 44. 1. Name the battle fought on June 10, 1864, near Tishomingo Creek, Mississippi. 2. Talk about a failed career. Prewar governor of Virginia and U. S. Secretary of War, this Confederate general transferred command at Fort Donelson so he could escape with his troops before the surrender. President Davis relieved him without a court of inquiry. His health failed and he died in August 1863. What was his name? 3. “Onward, Fifty-fourth!,” this Massachusetts colonel shouted before he was shot and killed, July 18, 1863. Who was he? 4. “That damn Yankee rifle they load up on Sunday and fire all week,” this repeating rifle was patented in 1860 but saw only limited use during the war. The weapon was named for its inventor—who? 5. How many Confederate state capital cities were occupied by Union forces during the War? 6. This battle, fought on Sept. 14, 1862, involved fighting at Turner’s, Fox’s and Crampton’s. Gap. What was its directional name? 7. In early March 1864 a Union officer led a bold raid to storm into Richmond which led to his death and surreptitious burial near the capital. Who? 8. A Confederate cavalry raid in Virginia, September 1864, brought back 2,500 Northern cattle for General Lee’s army. Nicknamed the “Beefsteak Raid,” it served as the basis for a popular Hollywood film of 1966 starring Richard Widmark and William Holden. Recall the name of the movie? 9. “Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!,” a Union officer yelled to Abraham Lincoln as the president peered over the parapet of Fort Stevens in July 1864. Name this future U.S. Supreme Court justice. 10. On May 5, 1862, near the colonial capital of Virginia, was fought a battle as McClellan’s army started its advance toward Richmond. Name it.

Small Talk

ANSWERS: 1. Brice’s Crossroads. 2. John B. Floyd. 3. Robert G. Shaw. 4. B. Tyler Henry. 5. Seven: Nashville, Baton Rouge, Jackson, Little Rock, Milledgeville, Columbia and Richmond. 6. South Mountain. 7. Ulric Dahlgren. 8. Alvarez Kelly. 9. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. 10. Williamsburg.