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Quiz about The Battle of Fredericksburg
Quiz about The Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg Trivia Quiz


A detailed quiz on the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

A multiple-choice quiz by WFlanigen. Estimated time: 8 mins.
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Author
WFlanigen
Time
8 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
165,129
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
9 / 20
Plays
4458
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Guest 24 (15/20), Guest 108 (8/20), Joekirby (9/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. On what day did Major General George B. McClellan depart the Army of the Potomac for the final time, having been replaced by Major General Ambrose Burnside? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. Burnside moved the Army of the Potomac to what small town across the Rappahannock river from Fredericksburg? Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. The first division of the Army of Northern Virginia to reach Fredericksburg (on November 20, 1862) was commanded by which man? Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's men were officially incorporated into the Army of Northern Virginia as the Second Army Corps in late 1862. By what name had they been known before that time? Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. Which Union officer suggested to General Burnside that a portion of the Army ought to cross the Rappahannock near Fredericksburg before the Confederates managed to mass their army near the town? Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. Who was the wartime mayor of Fredericksburg who refused the Union demand that the city be surrendered to the Army of the Potomac? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Fredericksburg lay on which strategically important railroad stretching through central Virginia? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. While the Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two Corps, or Wings, the Army of the Potomac was organized into three "Grand Divisions": Right, Left, and Center. Who commanded the Left Grand Division? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. When Federal troops began to cross the Rappahannock River into Fredericksburg on December 11, 1862, the Confederates under James Longstreet rushed into defensive positions on which line of hills west of town? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. Engineers from which state laid most of the pontoon bridges on which the army would cross? Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. When Confederate snipers delayed the pontoon bridges, troops from which man's brigade were landed on the far shore to drive away the enemy? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. Federal artillery on which line of hills pummeled the town of Fredericksburg while the Federals attempted to cross the river? Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. After the Federals took the city of Fredericksburg and Barksdale's Mississippi troops retreated to join the rest of the Confederate army, the Army of the Potomac crossed in full on December 12, 1862. What did the troops do on that day that made history? Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. The major action of the battle occurred on December 13. In an attempt to turn Stonewall Jackson's line on the Confederate right, Federal troops assaulted a gap in Jackson's main line. Whose brigade was surprised and forced to retreat by this attack? Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. Jackson's line on Prospect Hill held against assaults from which two Union divisions? Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. When attacks on Stonewall Jackson's line failed, the focus of the Union effort was mounted against Longstreet's corp on the hills that governed the Confederate left. Whose Federal division was the first thrown at the heights? Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. Which Confederate artillery unit on the heights west of Fredericksburg fired on Union divisions as they marched forward to attack? Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. When attacks by division after division of Federals were all stalled, Federal troops were pinned down by fire and forced to remain on the field through 2 long, cold winter nights. On the night of December 14-15, what did they see in the sky over the field? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. Confederate troops under Thomas R.R. Cobb held a line below Marye's Heights that repulsed the Federal attacks. What did his men use as cover from Federal fire? Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. After withdrawing back across the Rappahannock in defeat, the Federal army counted losses of nearly 13,000 men. Burnside, held personally responsible, planned to embark on a campaign to redeem himself the next January by marching his army northwest, crossing the river, and engaging Lee's forces there. This plan failed. What was it dubbed by both sides? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. On what day did Major General George B. McClellan depart the Army of the Potomac for the final time, having been replaced by Major General Ambrose Burnside?

Answer: November 10, 1862

McClellan was unconditionally loved by his men, who affectionately referred to him as "Little Mac." His departure on November 10 was described as an intensely emotional scene for the Army of the Potomac.
2. Burnside moved the Army of the Potomac to what small town across the Rappahannock river from Fredericksburg?

Answer: Falmouth

Falmouth would serve as the headquarters for the Army of the Potomac from November, 1862 until May, 1863.
3. The first division of the Army of Northern Virginia to reach Fredericksburg (on November 20, 1862) was commanded by which man?

Answer: Lafayette McLaws

McLaws reached the area first, and Ransom second. They both hid their divisions in the hills west of the city.
4. Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's men were officially incorporated into the Army of Northern Virginia as the Second Army Corps in late 1862. By what name had they been known before that time?

Answer: Army of the Valley

Though he had fought with the Army of Northern Virginia since June of 1862, Jackson's force remained officially a separate army, the Army of the (Shenandoah) Valley. After departing the Shenandoah Valley in November, 1862 for Fredericksburg, he would never again return alive.
5. Which Union officer suggested to General Burnside that a portion of the Army ought to cross the Rappahannock near Fredericksburg before the Confederates managed to mass their army near the town?

Answer: Major General Winfield Scott Hancock

Hancock made the suggestion that his division be allowed to cross the river, but Burnside rebuffed him, convinced that the Army ought to wait until the pontoons arrived so that it could cross as one, with the supplies and artillery it required.
6. Who was the wartime mayor of Fredericksburg who refused the Union demand that the city be surrendered to the Army of the Potomac?

Answer: Montgomery Slaughter

Slaughter brokered an agreement with the Union Army that the city would not surrender, but artillery in Fredericksburg that had been firing on Union troops across the river would cease operations.
7. Fredericksburg lay on which strategically important railroad stretching through central Virginia?

Answer: Richmond, Fredericksburg & the Potomac Railroad

The RF&P Railroad, which stretched from Aquia, Virginia on the Potomac River to the Confederate capitol in Richmond, crossed through Fredericksburg, though the rail bridge at the city over the Rappahannock river was unusable.
8. While the Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two Corps, or Wings, the Army of the Potomac was organized into three "Grand Divisions": Right, Left, and Center. Who commanded the Left Grand Division?

Answer: William Franklin

Franklin's force, which amounted to nearly half of the army at the Battle of Fredericksburg, was directly opposite "Stonewall" Jackson's II Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia.
9. When Federal troops began to cross the Rappahannock River into Fredericksburg on December 11, 1862, the Confederates under James Longstreet rushed into defensive positions on which line of hills west of town?

Answer: Marye's Heights

The fighting below Marye's Heights would last for more than a full day and feature some of the bloodiest combat of the war.
10. Engineers from which state laid most of the pontoon bridges on which the army would cross?

Answer: New York

The 15th and the 50th New York Engineers laid three of the four pontoon bridges. The fourth was laid by a US Engineers Battalion.
11. When Confederate snipers delayed the pontoon bridges, troops from which man's brigade were landed on the far shore to drive away the enemy?

Answer: Norman Hall

Hall's brigade (again, New Yorkers) crossed the river in pontoon boats and engaged in the first street fighting in Fredericksburg. His men executed the first amphibious landing under fire in US history.
12. Federal artillery on which line of hills pummeled the town of Fredericksburg while the Federals attempted to cross the river?

Answer: Stafford Heights

Federal artillery under Henry Hunt failed to root out the snipers punishing Federal engineers, but did succeed in nearly leveling the city of Fredericksburg with massed, indiscriminate fire.
13. After the Federals took the city of Fredericksburg and Barksdale's Mississippi troops retreated to join the rest of the Confederate army, the Army of the Potomac crossed in full on December 12, 1862. What did the troops do on that day that made history?

Answer: Mercilessly sacked the town

The sacking of Fredericksburg marked the first time in history that an American town was sacked by an American army.
14. The major action of the battle occurred on December 13. In an attempt to turn Stonewall Jackson's line on the Confederate right, Federal troops assaulted a gap in Jackson's main line. Whose brigade was surprised and forced to retreat by this attack?

Answer: Maxcy Gregg

Gregg suffered a mortal wound that day in the fighting.
15. Jackson's line on Prospect Hill held against assaults from which two Union divisions?

Answer: Gibbon & Meade

Meade and Gibbon assaulted the enemy, and after early gains were forced back. Left Grand Division commander William Franklin refused to reinforce their attack.
16. When attacks on Stonewall Jackson's line failed, the focus of the Union effort was mounted against Longstreet's corp on the hills that governed the Confederate left. Whose Federal division was the first thrown at the heights?

Answer: French

French's division, the first to assault Marye's Heights, was routed with heavy casualties, and regrouped on the river's edge after its failed attack.
17. Which Confederate artillery unit on the heights west of Fredericksburg fired on Union divisions as they marched forward to attack?

Answer: The Washington Artillery

The Washington Artillery, recruited from Louisiana, was largely regarded as the best of the best Confederate artillerymen throughout the war.
18. When attacks by division after division of Federals were all stalled, Federal troops were pinned down by fire and forced to remain on the field through 2 long, cold winter nights. On the night of December 14-15, what did they see in the sky over the field?

Answer: The Aurora Borealis

This incident was documented because of its rarity (the aurora borealis almost never appears in Virginia), and its irony. Many Confederate soldiers believed that God had hung out his banners to celebrate a Southern victory.
19. Confederate troops under Thomas R.R. Cobb held a line below Marye's Heights that repulsed the Federal attacks. What did his men use as cover from Federal fire?

Answer: A stone wall and a sunken road

The stone wall behind which Cobb's men stood is largely destroyed today. Only a small portion of the original remains, and the Park Service has reconstructed another small portion near the Military Park's headquarters.
20. After withdrawing back across the Rappahannock in defeat, the Federal army counted losses of nearly 13,000 men. Burnside, held personally responsible, planned to embark on a campaign to redeem himself the next January by marching his army northwest, crossing the river, and engaging Lee's forces there. This plan failed. What was it dubbed by both sides?

Answer: Burnside's Mud March

Burnside's Mud March in January, 1863, failed not because the Confederates defeated him again, but because the Army of the Potomac literally could not move in the mud of a Virginia winter. Burnside was relieved after the debacle, and replaced by Major General Joseph Hooker, leaving the army on January 27, 1863.
Source: Author WFlanigen

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