Small Talk-Trivia

Foreigners

By Stephen Davis · Originally published December 2018 · pp. 39–40

This month’s trivia questions are based on the seminal works of Prof. Ella Lonn (1879–1962), Foreigners in the Confederacy (1940) and Foreigners in the Union Army and Navy (1951). Let’s do a matching exercise. Your choices are alphabetized, “a.-j.” at the end of our ten questions. Answers will be found on page 40. 1. “The year 1861 found him serving on the staff of the prince of Prussia, but he secured leave of absence, ran the blockade in May, 1862, and became chief of staff to General Stuart.” Who? 2. This son of a noble English family was appointed colonel of the 1st New York Cavalry. He suffered a severe wound at Brandy Station, and was mustered out a month later. Who? 3. Lieutenant colonel of the Coldstream Guards, this Englishman accompanied Lee’s army into Pennsylvania in 1863, and in his Three Months in the Southern States, April–June 1863 (Mobile, 1864) wrote of his observations of Gettysburg. Who? 4. Born in a village on the Rhine in 1829, this German political revolutionary of 1848 emigrated to America. “At Chancellorsville his division of the Eleventh Corps bore the brunt of Jackson’s attack.” Who? 5. “He was still a very young man, only twenty-nine years old, when he placed his sword at the service of the Confederacy…. by January, 1863, he was serving as brigadier general with the command of General Dick Taylor who was operating in Louisiana under General E. Kirby Smith.” Who? 6. This Irishman, who came to America with his widowed mother in 1832, volunteered for service in the Mexican War, and in 1861 was elected second lieutenant in the 1st New York Volunteers. By 1864 he had risen to division command in the XVI Corps, fighting in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. It was said that he gave orders in three languages: “English, IrishAmerican, and profane.” Who? 7. “He was born in County Cork, Ireland, but came to America in 1853 and was practicing law at Helena, Arkansas, at the outbreak of the war.” At the time of his death, in the battle of Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864, he was commanding an infantry division in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Who? 8. A Prussian officer before the war, his surname meant in German a miser who let his pennies become moldy. It was said that when Lincoln was courting German-American voters, he recommended this officer for a generalship. Informed that the officer lacked adequate experience, the president answered that his last name alone was the real political value. He left the room repeatedly muttering the German’s last name. Who? 9. This Confederate Cabinet officer was descended from a Portuguese Jewish family, born in 1811 in the British West Indies. Before the war he was one of only two Jews who had served in the United States Senate (both were from Southern states). Once in the Senate he was assailed as “that Jew from Louisiana.” On the floor he calmly replied: “It is true that I am a Jew, and when my ancestors were receiving their ten commandments from the immediate hand of Deity, amidst the thunderings and lightnings of Mount Sinai, the ancestors of the distinguished gentleman who is opposed to me were herding swine in the forests of Scandinavia.” Who? 10. Born in Baden in 1824, this professionally trained officer had gained reputation “as one of the best artillerists of Germany.” At the time of the war he lived in St. Louis, organizing GermanAmericans for the Union cause. His fellow countrymen loved him, exclaiming, “I fights mit _____.” Who?

Choose from these a. Arthur James Lyon Fremantle b. Thomas William Sweeny c. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne d. Alexander von Schimmelfennig e. Heros von Borcke f. Franz Sigel g. Judah Philip Benjamin h. Sir Percy Wyndham i. Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac j. Carl Schurz Answers found on page 40.

Small Talk Trivia Answers 1. e. Heros von Borcke (1835–1895) 2. h. Sir Percy Wyndham (1833–1879) 3. a. Arthur James Lyon Fremantle (1835–1901) 4. j. Carl Schurz (1829–1906) 5. i. Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac (1832–1913) 6. b. Thomas William Sweeny (1820–1892) 7. c. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (1828–1864) 8. d. Alexander von Schimmelfennig (1824–1865) 9. g. Judah Philip Benjamin (1811–1884) 10. f. Franz Sigel (1824–1902)