U.S. Civil War Battles and Commanders Quiz

Answer: Union-Ulysses Grant, Confederate-Albert S. Johnston

Fought on April 6-7, 1862, in western Tennessee, the Battle of Shiloh began with a surprise Confederate attack on Union General Ulysses Grant's army near Pittsburg Landing, which pushed the Union lines back almost to the Tennessee River. Union reinforcements arrived overnight, and a Union counterattack on the second day routed the Confederates. Confederate General Albert S. Johnston was killed on the first day, and General Beauregard assumed command.

Answer: Union-John Pope, Confederate-Robert E. Lee

After Union General McClellan's failure to take Richmond in the spring of 1862, a new Union army, called the Army of Virginia, was formed to the west of Washington, D.C. and led by General John Pope. Confederate General Jackson captured the Union supply depot near Manassas, and Pope thought that he had a chance to destroy Jackson's force.

While Pope attacked Jackson's troops, the rest of Lee's army assaulted Pope's flank, routing the Union troops. Pope was sent West, and the Army of Virginia was integrated into the Army of the Potomac.

Answer: Union-Don Carlos Buell, Confederate-Braxton Bragg

Seeking supplies, recruits, and to possibly entice Kentucky to join the Confederacy, General Bragg invaded the state in September of 1862. The Union Army of the Ohio under Buell, which had been advancing towards Chattanooga, turned around to counter Bragg's force.

The two armies met at Perryville in the central part of the state on October 8, 1862. The battle was a draw, but Bragg decided to retreat.

Answer: Union-John Schofield, Confederate John Bell Hood

After defeat in the Battle of Atlanta, General Hood tried to lure Union General Sherman back into Tennessee by attacking his supply lines. When that failed, Hood moved towards Nashville. On November 30, 1864, Hood attacked Union troops of the Army of the Ohio under John Schofield in the town of Franklin, Tennessee.

The Confederates made repeated frontal assaults against Union defenses, resulting in over 6,000 casualties, almost a quarter of the Confederate troops engaged.

Answer: Union-George Meade, Confederate-Robert E. Lee

After his victory at Chancellorsville in May, 1863, Lee decided to take the fight into the North and invaded Pennsylvania. On July 1, 1863, Union cavalry met Confederate troops outside of the small college town of Gettysburg, in the southern part of the state. Both sides sent in reinforcements, and the bloodiest battle of the Civil War began. Union General George Meade assumed a strong defensive position on the hills surrounding the town, forcing Lee to attack.

The battle lasted for three days and resulted in a decisive Union victory.

Answer: Union-Samuel Curtis, Confederate-Earl Van Dorn

After pushing Confederate forces out of Missouri, Union troops under General Curtis entered northern Arkansas. Curtis did not want to outrun his supply lines and set up defenses along Little Sugar Creek in the northwest part of the state. Confederate General Van Dorn had been gathering his troops near the town of Fayetteville, and moved towards the Union positions. Van Dorn's attempt to outflank Curtis failed, and the Confederates were forced to retreat after a two day battle.

Answer: Union-Irvin McDowell, Confederate Joseph Johnston

Considered the first major battle of the war, the First Battle of Bull Run was fought on July 21, 1861, in northern Virginia. The Union Army had been under enormous pressure to advance and take the Confederate capital, Richmond, so Union General McDowell led his troops from Washington to face the Confederate army under Johnston.

The battle was a fight between untrained troops from both sides, but the Union troops were badly led and routed.

Answer: Union-George McClellan, Confederate-Robert E. Lee

After their victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Confederates invaded Maryland to take the fight into the North. General McClellan had no idea where Lee's main army was, but a Union scout found a copy of Lee's plans and the Union forces moved to intercept him.

The two armies met at the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, along Antietam Creek. After an all-day struggle, the bloodiest single day of the war, Lee was forced to retreat back into Virginia.

Answer: Union-William T.Sherman, Confederate-Joseph Johnston

The Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, was fought from March 19-21, 1865. The Union Army under William Tecumseh Sherman had marched through Georgia and South Carolina and were looking to destroy General Joseph Johnston's army. Johnston had concentrated his forces between the two wings of Sherman's army, hoping to attack and defeat one wing before the other could intervene.

After some initial success, the Confederate attacks were repulsed, and on the third day of the battle the Union forces drove them from the field. Johnston surrendered one month later.

Answer: Union-Ulysses Grant, Confederate-John Pemberton

From the beginning of the war, the Union had been trying to take control of the Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in half. By May, 1863, only Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Port Hudson, Louisiana,held out. General Grant began the siege of Vicksburg, which was defended by troops under General Joseph Pemberton on May 25, 1863.

While initial Union assaults were repulsed, Confederate attempts to relieve the city were unsuccessful, and Pemberton surrendered on July 4, 1863.

Answer: Union-Ambrose Burnside, Confederate-Robert E. Lee

Dissatisfied with General McClellan's lack of pursuit of Lee's army after Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln replaced McClellan with Ambrose Burnside in November 7, 1862. Burnside planned to feign a movement to the southwest and then turn towards Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River before General Lee could react.

The Union crossing of the river was delayed, allowing Lee to take up defensive positions south of the town. From December 11-15, Union troops were mowed down in frontal assaults on strong Confederate defenses and Burnside was forced to retreat.

Answer: Union-William Rosecrans, Confederate-Braxton Bragg

After losing the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky, General Bragg regrouped his forces near the central Tennessee town of Murfreesboro, on the Stones River. The Union Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans advanced on Bragg's position, arriving on December 30, 1862. Bragg's troops attacked the Union right wing early on December 31, and drove them back three miles before the Union line held, and further attacks were repulsed.

After a quiet New Year's Day, Bragg attacked again on January 2, but the Union lines held, and Bragg withdrew further south in Tennessee.

Answer: Union-Joseph Hooker, Confederate-Robert E. Lee

After the debacle at Fredericksburg in December of 1862, Union General Burnside was replaced by General Joseph Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Hooker had a reputation as a hard fighter, and he planned to outflank and destroy Robert E. Lee's army in May, 1863, by advancing across the Rapidan River with his main force, while the rest of the army hit Lee's front at Fredericksburg. Lee, however, was not fooled, and led four-fifths of his army to confront Hooker near Chancellorsville, Virginia. Lee split his smaller army and hit Hooker from two directions, routing the Union Army.

Unfortunately, Lee's most able subordinate, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, was mortally wounded by his own men at this battle.

Answer: Union-George Thomas, Confederate-John Bell Hood

After defeating the Confederates at Franklin, Tennessee, in November, 1864, Union General Schofield withdrew into Nashville and combined his army with that of General George Thomas. The Confederates under General John Bell Hood followed and took up positions to the south of the city. Hood knew that his forces were not strong enough to assault Nashville, and hoped that Thomas would ruin his army by attacking the Confederate lines. Hood sent forces to attack railroad lines to the northeast, hoping to draw Thomas out, but all he did was weaken his own army. On December 15, 1864, Thomas began a series of assaults on the Confederate positions, outflanking their lines and forcing Hood to retreat. Hood's army was virtually destroyed and he was relieved of command.

Answer: Union-George McClellan, Confederate-Joseph Johnston

In March, 1862, Union forces under General George McClellan landed near Fort Monroe on the Virginia Peninsula and advanced northwest, hoping to outflank Confederate defenses and capture Richmond. The Union advance was slow and cautious, as the Confederates held them up at every opportunity. On June 1, 1862, General Johnston saw an opportunity to attack two Union corps that were isolated south of the Chickahominy River near Fair Oaks.

The initial assaults were successful, and both sides fed in reinforcements, but the Union troops held their positions.

The long term results of the battle was that General Johnston was seriously wounded, and command of the Confederate forces went to General Robert E. Lee.