Damn the Torpedoes: August in the Civil War Quiz

Answer: The Battle of Wilson's Creek

The Battle of Wilson's Creek, fought on August 10, 1861, was the first major Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River. Union General Nathaniel Lyon, hoping to maintain control of Missouri for the Union, led an attack on a combined force of Confederate troops and the Missouri State Guard near Springfield.

Though the Union troops fought fiercely, they were ultimately outnumbered and forced to retreat after Lyon was killed in action, earning him the distinction of being the first Union general to die in the Civil War. The Confederate victory boosted Southern morale and intensified the struggle for control of Missouri.

Answer: Kentucky

The Confederate invasion of Kentucky in August 1862 marked the start of the Heartland Offensive, led by Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith. The Confederacy hoped to rally pro-Southern support in the neutral border state, capture resources, and draw Union forces away from the deep South. They initially advanced deep into the state, taking cities like Lexington and Frankfort, but the effort ultimately failed in its objectives.

The campaign reached a climax at the Battle of Perryville in October, where Union forces repelled Bragg's army, forcing a retreat back into Tennessee. It was a strategic loss for the Confederacy, with Kentucky remaining in Union hands for the rest of the war.

Kentucky was very much a brother-against-brother state, with over 80,000 Kentuckians (including 20,000 freed slaves) joining the Union cause, and about half that number fighting for the Confederacy.

Answer: The Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Second Battle of Manassas, was fought from August 28 to 30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia. It saw Union Major General John Pope pitted against Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet.

The Confederate victory was decisive with Pope's Army of Virginia suffering heavy losses and being forced to retreat to the defenses of Washington, D.C. The triumph emboldened Lee to launch his first invasion of the North, culminating in the pivotal Battle of Antietam just a few weeks later.

Answer: The Battle of Gettysburg

After the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, General Robert E. Lee wrote a letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in August, offering his resignation as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee blamed himself for the crushing defeat, which marked a significant turning point in the Civil War and ended the Confederacy's second major invasion of the North.

In the letter, Lee cited his declining health and the belief that "a younger and abler man" should take command. Davis, however, refused the resignation and reaffirmed his confidence in Lee's leadership. Lee would continue to command until the war's end in 1865.

Answer: The Lawrence Massacre

The Lawrence Massacre, known also as Quantrill's Raid, was among the goriest and most notorious guerrilla attacks of the Civil War. Quantrill and about 400 pro-Confederate raiders descended on the anti-slavery town of Lawrence, Kansas, at dawn, killing civilians and burning much of the town. The massacre was in retaliation for Unionist attacks in Missouri by Jayhawker militias, suspected of being among the men of the town.

One of the attackers was a young Frank James, older brother of Jesse James, who would later join Quantrill's Raiders. The brutality of the attack outraged even some Confederate sympathizers and certainly did nothing to ease the tensions between Kansas and Missouri.

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

The City Point explosion was a dangerous act of sabotage carried out by a Confederate agent named John Maxwell. He smuggled the time bomb aboard an ammunition barge docked near Union supply depots at City Point, which served as Grant's headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg.

The explosion on August 9, 1864, killed several workers and soldiers, damaged the Union supply chain, and sent debris flying across the riverfront. Grant, working just a few hundred feet away, witnessed the explosion but was uninjured. At the time, it was believed to be an accident. It wasn't until after the war that Maxwell admitted responsibility.

Answer: The Battle of Mobile Bay

The Battle of Mobile Bay was a major Union naval victory fought on August 5, 1864, as part of the campaign to close one of the Confederacy's last major Gulf ports. Confederate forces had planted underwater mines, then known as "torpedoes", in order to ward off Union ships.

When the lead Union vessel struck one and sank, Farragut, lashed high in the rigging to see above the smoke, is reported to have shouted: "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!" which has become shortened over time to its more familiar form. This bold decision helped secure a critical victory that further tightened the Union blockade and boosted Northern morale.

Answer: Philip Sheridan

In August 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant appointed Philip H. Sheridan to lead the newly restructured Army of the Shenandoah, with orders to destroy Jubal Early's Confederate forces and eliminate the Shenandoah Valley as a source of supplies for the South.

Sheridan's harsh tactics and scorched-earth campaign, famously summarized by Grant as "to make the Valley so desolate that crows flying over it would have to carry their own rations," helped secure the Union's control of the region. His victories at Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek in the following months effectively ended major operations by Early's troops.

Answer: Atlanta

The Battle of Jonesborough, fought from August 31 to September 1, 1864, was the final major engagement of the Atlanta Campaign. Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman successfully cut the last remaining Confederate railroad supply line into Atlanta, forcing General John Bell Hood to evacuate the city.

On September 2, 1864, Union troops entered and occupied Atlanta, a turning point in the war that greatly boosted Northern morale and contributed to Abraham Lincoln's reelection later that year.

Answer: George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan, once hailed as the "Young Napoleon", was twice relieved of command by President Lincoln, first as general-in-chief in March 1862, and later from command of the Army of the Potomac after failing to pursue Lee following Antietam. Despite this, the Democratic Party nominated him for president in 1864, hoping his popularity with the troops could win the public over.

While the party ran on a platform of peace, McClellan distanced himself from it. He lost the election, as Union military successes, especially the fall of Atlanta, turned public favor back to Lincoln.