Keep Your Confederate Fingers off my Union Hair Quiz

Answer:

Earl Van Dorn was born in 1820 in Mississippi. He initially served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War. After the Civil War began, he led Confederate forces in the Western front, but was responsible for defeats like Pea Ridge in Arkansas and the loss of Corinth in Tennessee. He was also a womanizer and his affair with the beautiful Jessie Peters resulted in her husband, a doctor, killing Van Dorn in early 1863.

William Barksdale was born in 1821 in Tennessee. After a career in the US Army during the war against Mexico, he fought for the CSA when the Civil War began. Fighting on the Eastern Front, he performed really well in First Manassas (Bull Run), Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. His life and career ended at Gettysburg, where he was wounded nine times while leading a charge against US positions on horseback.

Raphael Semmes was a commander in the CS Navy, captaining the highly successful "CSS Alabama". In just over a year, the "Alabama" sank over twenty US ships. In South Africa, there is a song devoted to Semmes and his ship, entitled "Daar komt die Alibama", meaning "Here comes the Alabama".

Albert S. Johnston was the most esteemed general of the CS President, Jefferson Davis. There were many expectations placed on him, so he was dispatched to Tennessee to command the Western front against the then unknown Union general U.S. Grant. Failing to prevent the capture of the critical forts Henry and Donelson, Johnston opted for a surprise attack, thus inaugurating the Battle of Shiloh. Although the attack caught the Union forces by surprise, Johnston was mortally wounded, the attack lost coordination, and the Union eventually emerged victorious.

Joseph E. Johnston was one of the most controversial CSA generals, especially when it comes to the critical Atlanta campaign. Although he was a shrewd strategist and a careful planner, his tactic of deep retreat caused much concern in Richmond, leading to his replacement by the bolder General John Bell Hood at the most critical stage. For decades after the Civil War, veterans and enthusiasts pondered over whether the main CS mistake was replacing Johnston with Hood or not having put Hood as the commander in the first place.

Nathan B. Forrest was a CS cavalry commander. According to historian Shelby Foote, Forrest and the US President Abraham Lincoln were the most profound geniuses of the Civil War. Forrest's admirable war record has however been tarnished by his postbellum leadership of the Ku Klux Klan.

Braxton Bragg commanded the CS efforts in the Western front for a substantial part of the war, from late 1862 to early 1864. Critical moments, like the abortive Kentucky Campaign in the fall of 1862, the bloody standoff at Murfreesboro (Stones River) in the beginning of 1863, the loss of Tullahoma in that spring of that year, the bloody and ultimately unexploited CS victory in Chickamauga in September and the loss of Chattanooga before the end of 1863 happened under his command. Bragg's leadership was ultimately erratic and his decisions resulted in no gains for the CSA.

William W. Loring began his career as a CSA commander under Robert E. Lee himself, in his West Virginia campaign. Loring acquired his nickname, "Old Blizzards", when he urged his men to give the Union soldiers "the blizzards" at the battle of Cheat Mountain. In 1862, despite clashes with his superior, Stonewall Jackson, Loring recaptured the Kanawha Valley and was later reassigned to the Western front. After the end of the Civil War, he served for a time in the Armed Forces of Egypt.

Richard S. Ewell was a subordinate of Stonewall Jackson during the brilliant Valley Campaign in early 1862. Later that year, he lost his leg at the Battle of Groveton and, by the time of his return, Jackson had been mortally wounded by friendly fire. The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, which Jackson had previously commanded, was given to Ewell. It is said that Ewell thrived under Jackson's tight style of command, but his performance was less than stellar under Lee's looser style of command.

George Pickett is most famous for the charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Pickett never formally submitted his report on the Gettysburg Campaign and his relations with Robert E. Lee were cold afterwards. Later, he caused an immense scandal by being absent on a shad bake while his soldiers' positions were getting captured by the US at Five Forks (April 1, 1865), and also for the disaster of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia at Sayler's Creek (April 6, 1865). During that day, after the battered CS soldiers were relatively safe, Robert E. Lee saw Pickett among the retreating columns and asked "Is that man still in this army"?