Death Becomes Them: American Civil War Generals Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This Confederate general and corps commander was accidentally shot by his own men at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, and died eight days later.

Answer: Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson

Born in Clarksburg, Virginia (now in West Virginia), on January 21, 1824, Thomas J. Jackson graduated from West Point in 1846. After service in the Mexican War, Jackson became an instructor at the Virginia Military Institute. He joined the Confederate Army when Virginia seceded in April, 1861. Jackson earned his nickname, "Stonewall", at the Battle of Bull Run in July, 1861.

He had great success in the next two years, often against superior Union forces, and was commander of the II Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia when he was killed.

2. This one-armed Union general was killed at Chantilly, Virginia on September 1, 1862, while investigating a gap in the Union lines.

Answer: Philip Kearny

Philip Kearny Jr. was born on June 1, 1815, in New York City to a wealthy family. He received a law degree in 1833, but desired a military career. He joined the U.S. Cavalry in 1837, and was posted to France to learn cavalry tactics from 1839-1840. Kearny served in the Mexican War, losing his left arm, and then served in the French Army from 1859-1861.

He rejoined the Union Army in 1861 and served with the Army of the Potomac. Kearny is credited with the idea of distinctive unit insignia patches for each regiment. Always known for his bravery under fire, Kearny was killed while investigating a gap in the Union line at Chantilly in September, 1862.

3. The first Union general to be killed in the war, this man died while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri on August 10, 1861.

Answer: Nathaniel Lyon

General Nathaniel Lyon was born in Connecticut in 1818 and graduated from West Point in 1841. After distinguishing himself in the Mexican War, Lyon commanded troops that reportedly committed atrocities against Native Americans in California. Assigned to Kansas before the outbreak of the Civil War, Lyon correctly guessed that the pro-Secession Missouri Governor, Claiborne Jackson, was plotting to arm the militia and join the Confederacy. On August 10, 1861, Confederate troops attacked Lyon at Wilson's Creek, near Springfield, Missouri. Lyon was killed while leading a cavalry charge.

4. A General in the Union Army, this man's brother was a Rear Admiral in the Navy during the Civil War. He was killed on July 1, 1863, as the Battle of Gettysburg began.

Answer: John F. Reynolds

John F. Reynolds of Pennsylvania graduated from West Point in 1841 and served in the Mexican War. He was the Commandant of West Point when the Civil War broke out in 1861, and joined the Army of the Potomac. He was captured in June during the Seven Days battles, but was quickly exchanged and rejoined the Union forces. Commanding the Union I Corps in July, 1863, his men were the first to encounter Confederate troops at Gettysburg. Reynolds was killed while deploying his men in the first stages of the battle. Reynold's older brother, William, was a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy from 1831-1877.

5. Regarded by many historians as one of the best general officers on either side in the Civil War, this man was killed on April 6, 1862 on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh.

Answer: Albert Sidney Johnston

Albert Sidney Johnston was born in Kentucky in 1803, and graduated from West Point in 1826. Johnston resigned in 1834 to care for his sick wife, and joined the army of the Texas Republic after her death in 1835. He also served in the Texas government until returning to the U.S. in 1840.

He rejoined the U.S. Army in 1846 but only served four months in the Mexican War before resigning again. He returned in 1848, and was serving in California when the Civil War began. Johnston joined the Confederacy and was assigned to command in the West. Johnston was killed on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862.

He was the highest ranking officer killed in the war.

6. This Confederate general was mortally wounded on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, while leading an assault on Union troops in the Peach Orchard. He died the following day.

Answer: William Barksdale

Born in Tennessee in 1821, Barksdale graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1842 and became a lawyer. He served in the Mexican War, and was then elected to the U. S. House of Representatives from Mississippi in 1853, serving until 1861. Barksdale joined the Confederate Army when the war broke out, seeing action in the Eastern theater and rising to command a brigade.

In July 2,1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, his men attacked a Union position called the Peach Orchard and Barksdale was seriously wounded and captured by Union troops.

He died the following day.

7. Hit by shell fragments while commanding the First Division of the Union 2nd Corps during the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, this man's wounds were not considered serious at the time. However, infection and then pneumonia led to his death on November 3, 1862.

Answer: Israel Richardson

Israel Richardson was born in Vermont in 1815 and graduated from West Point in 1841. He was nicknamed "Fighting Dick" during his service in the Mexican War. Richardson resigned from the Army in 1855, rejoining as a Colonel in 1861. He served in the Army of the Potomac and was promoted to command the 1st Division of the II Corps.

At the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, his men were driving the Confederates back from the Sunken Road in the center of the line when Richardson was struck by artillery fire. Richardson developed an infection, and then succumbed to pneumonia in November 1862.

8. Killed at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, just days before Lee's surrender, this well-regarded Confederate general was commander of the Third Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia at his death.

Answer: Ambrose Powell Hill

Known as A.P. Hill, he was born in Virginia in 1825, and graduated from West Point in 1847. He saw brief service in the Mexican War. Hill resigned from the U.S. Army when the Civil War broke out and joined the Confederacy. By 1862, Hill was a brigade commander under "Stonewall" Jackson. Hill had a good relationship with General Lee, but was thought to be incompetent at times by other Confederate officers, possibly due to a nagging illness Hill suffered from. General Hill was killed at Petersburg on April 2, 1865.

9. After working his way up the ladder through various staff assignments, this Union general was killed at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864 while in command of the Army of the Tennessee.

Answer: James B. McPherson

Union General James McPherson of Ohio was born in 1828, and graduated from West Point in 1853. An engineer, he spent eight years at various posts until the Civil War began in 1861. He served as a staff and engineering officer until he was appointed to command the XVII Corps of General Grant's Army of the Tennessee in October of 1862. By 1864, McPherson was in command of the Army of Tennessee, leading it at the Battle of Atlanta, where he was caught in the open during a Confederate attack on July 22, 1864, and killed.

10. Commander of a brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg, this Confederate general's men penetrated farthest into the Union lines during Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. He was wounded and died of infection two days later.

Answer: Lewis Armistead

Lewis Armistead (1817-1863) was born in North Carolina. He attended West Point but resigned before graduation. His father, a veteran of the War of 1812, secured Armistead a commission in the U.S. Army in 1839, and he served in the Mexican War. He served in various frontier posts and was in San Diego, California when the Civil War began. Armistead resigned from the Army and formed a militia company and came east, where he was commissioned into the Confederate army.

At Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, Armistead's brigade was part of Pickett's charge, and he and his men achieved the deepest penetration into the Union lines. Armistead was badly wounded and captured, dying in a Union hospital on July 5.

11. This Union general, commander of the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac, was killed by a sniper on May 9, 1863 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.

Answer: John Sedgwick

Born in Connecticut in 1813, John Sedgwick graduated from West Point in 1837. He fought in the Mexican War and was later commissioned a Captain of Artillery. Sedgwick served in frontier posts and transferred to the cavalry in 1855. At the outset of the Civil War, Sedgwick was a divisional commander until he was promoted to command the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac in late 1862.

He was in command of this unit when he was shot in the head at Spotsylvania Court House on May 9, 1864. Reportedly, Sedgwick had admonished his fellow officers for ducking to avoid Confederate fire by saying, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance"! right before he was killed.

12. An immigrant from Ireland who had briefly served in the British army, this Confederate general was killed on November 30, 1864, at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.

Answer: Patrick Cleburne

Patrick Cleburne was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1828 and served in the British Army from 1846-1849. He emigrated to the United States in 1849 and eventually settled in Arkansas, where he was a pharmacist and lawyer. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Cleburne was elected Captain of his militia company when it was mustered into the Confederate army. Cleburne was promoted to General in command of the 15th Arkansas Infantry in March, 1862.

He fought in the major battles in the Western theater, becoming a division commander in 1863. Cleburne was a proponent of the enlistment of black troops in exchange for their freedom as the war turned against the South, but this was not a popular idea. Cleburne was killed, along with five other Confederate generals, while leading his division at Franklin on November 30, 1864.

13. A Confederate general with an unusual and distinctive name, this man was also killed at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.

Answer: States Rights Gist

Born in South Carolina in 1831, States Rights Gist was named after the political concept of nullification espoused by John C. Calhoun, a prominent South Carolina senator and former Vice President. Gist graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1850 and attended Harvard for two years without graduating, becoming a lawyer in 1853. Gist was active in the state militia, becoming a General in 1856, and was instrumental in recruiting for the Confederate Army on the outbreak of the Civil War. He was promoted to General in March, 1862. Gist was assigned to the Army of Tennessee in May, 1863, commanding a brigade in Cheatham's division. Gist was killed at Franklin on November 30, 1864.

14. Passed over for a field command at the beginning of the Civil War, this Union general was finally promoted to commander of the Union XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and died the following day.

Answer: Joseph K. Mansfield

Born in Connecticut in 1803, Joseph K. Mansfield graduated from West Point in 1822 as an engineer. He was a Captain during the Mexican War and was promoted to Colonel soon afterward, becoming Inspector General of the Army in 1853. Mansfield was promoted to General in May, 1861, but did not get a field command due to his age.

He was given a brigade during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862, and finally promoted to command the XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac two days before the Battle of Antietam. Mansfield was killed while leading his men at Antietam on September 17, 1862.

15. One of the most flamboyant and colorful officers in the Confederate army, this cavalry commander was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in Virginia on May 11,1864 and died the following day.

Answer: James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart

Born in Virginia on February 6, 1833, James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart graduated from West Point in 1854, serving mostly in Texas and Kansas. Stuart was present at the capture of abolitionist John Brown in 1859. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Army as a cavalry general. Stuart was known for his elaborate uniforms and "cavalier" style, which made him a favorite among the Southern people. Stuart was also a risk taker, and had great success even when outnumbered. By 1864, however, the Union cavalry had caught up with the Southern army in skill and tactics, and Stuart was mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, Virginia on May 11, 1864.

Source: Author Reamar42

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Questions		Choices
1. This Confederate general and corps commander was accidentally shot by his own men at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, and died eight days later.		John Sedgwick
2. This one-armed Union general was killed at Chantilly, Virginia on September 1, 1862, while investigating a gap in the Union lines.		James B. McPherson
3. The first Union general to be killed in the war, this man died while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri on August 10, 1861.		Israel Richardson
4. A General in the Union Army, this man's brother was a Rear Admiral in the Navy during the Civil War. He was killed on July 1, 1863, as the Battle of Gettysburg began.		James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart
5. Regarded by many historians as one of the best general officers on either side in the Civil War, this man was killed on April 6, 1862 on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh.		States Rights Gist
6. This Confederate general was mortally wounded on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, while leading an assault on Union troops in the Peach Orchard. He died the following day.		William Barksdale
7. Hit by shell fragments while commanding the First Division of the Union 2nd Corps during the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, this man's wounds were not considered serious at the time. However, infection and then pneumonia led to his death on November 3, 1862.		Joseph K. Mansfield
8. Killed at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, just days before Lee's surrender, this well-regarded Confederate general was commander of the Third Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia at his death.		Ambrose Powell Hill
9. After working his way up the ladder through various staff assignments, this Union general was killed at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864 while in command of the Army of the Tennessee.		John F. Reynolds
10. Commander of a brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg, this Confederate general's men penetrated farthest into the Union lines during Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. He was wounded and died of infection two days later.		Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
11. This Union general, commander of the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac, was killed by a sniper on May 9, 1863 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.		Philip Kearny
12. An immigrant from Ireland who had briefly served in the British army, this Confederate general was killed on November 30, 1864, at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.		Patrick Cleburne
13. A Confederate general with an unusual and distinctive name, this man was also killed at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.		Albert Sidney Johnston
14. Passed over for a field command at the beginning of the Civil War, this Union general was finally promoted to commander of the Union XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and died the following day.		Lewis Armistead
15. One of the most flamboyant and colorful officers in the Confederate army, this cavalry commander was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in Virginia on May 11,1864 and died the following day.		Nathaniel Lyon

The American Civil War (1861-1865) cost the lives of some 650,000 soldiers. Since many commanders still led their men from the front, casualties among even generals were high. Match the general to the battle in which they were killed.