Local History Roundtable
Civil War Brain Teaser
1. Name a Michigan woman who was received at the White House during the Civil War by PresidentLincoln.
A. Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe
2. Lincoln only visited one city in Michigan. Which one?
2. Lincoln only visited one city in Michigan. Which one?
A. Kalamazoo Aug.27, 1856
3. What is the Harvey E. Lemmen Collection and where is it?
3. What is the Harvey E. Lemmen Collection and where is it?
A. Thousands of items related to slavery and the Civil War and slavery from 1804 donated by local collector, Harvey Lemmen, housed in Grand Valley State University Special Collections in the Seidman House.
4. What is Grace Bedell’s connection to Abraham Lincoln and to Michigan? A. Grace was a young girl who wrote a letter to Lincoln urging him to grow a beard because “ladies” are intrigued by men with beards. Lincoln met her and told her that her letter was the reason he grew a beard. Bedell’s letter is in the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection.
5. Which Michigan woman received the Kearny Cross of Valor, a battle decoration?
4. What is Grace Bedell’s connection to Abraham Lincoln and to Michigan? A. Grace was a young girl who wrote a letter to Lincoln urging him to grow a beard because “ladies” are intrigued by men with beards. Lincoln met her and told her that her letter was the reason he grew a beard. Bedell’s letter is in the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection.
5. Which Michigan woman received the Kearny Cross of Valor, a battle decoration?
A. Annie Etheridge
6. What happened as the ship Sultana was transporting Michigan soldiers released from Confederate prisons?
6. What happened as the ship Sultana was transporting Michigan soldiers released from Confederate prisons?
A. The boiler exploded, killing 1,500.
7. What was the real name of the Flint native who enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry in disguise?
7. What was the real name of the Flint native who enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry in disguise?
A. Sarah Emma Edmonds as Franklin Thompson who remained with her regiment 22 months and received an honorable discharge.
8. Which Michigan unit did Gen George Custer command?
8. Which Michigan unit did Gen George Custer command?
A.The Michigan Cavalry Brigade, which included the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th Cavalry Regiments.
9. Name at lest one Michigan Regiment that went with Gen Sherman on is “March to the Sea.”
9. Name at lest one Michigan Regiment that went with Gen Sherman on is “March to the Sea.”
A. 1st Michigan Light Infantry Battery; 9th Cavalry; Mechanics and Engineers.
10. What is so unique about Corydon Foote’s Civil War service?
10. What is so unique about Corydon Foote’s Civil War service?
A. He volunteered at age 13 and served as a drummer for the 10th Infantry Regiment.
11. Which Michigan Civil War general has a historically black college named after him?
11. Which Michigan Civil War general has a historically black college named after him?
A. Clinton Bowen Fisk of White Pigeon. Fisk also ran for President in 1888.
12. Name two Michigan women who served in the military during the Civil War and what service each performed.
12. Name two Michigan women who served in the military during the Civil War and what service each performed.
A. Annie Etheridge, nurse; Jane Hinsdale, soldier; Bridget Deavers; Sarah Emma Edmonds, enlisted as a man and served as a male nurse.
13. What was the official total number of casualties related to the Civil War? A. 627,000
14. Who was the governor of Michigan during the Civil War?
13. What was the official total number of casualties related to the Civil War? A. 627,000
14. Who was the governor of Michigan during the Civil War?
A. Austin Blair
15. Which company was the largest Native American company serving with the Union Army east of the Mississippi?
15. Which company was the largest Native American company serving with the Union Army east of the Mississippi?
A. Company K 1st Michigan Sharpshooters
16. Recite the first line of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
16. Recite the first line of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
A. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
18. What was the name of the play that Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated?
18. What was the name of the play that Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated?
A. “Our American Cousin”
19. Who was the highest-ranking Native American to serve in the Civil War?
19. Who was the highest-ranking Native American to serve in the Civil War?
A. Stand Watie, Cherokee
20. Who was the only woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War?
20. Who was the only woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War?
A. Harriet Tubman
21. Companies within a regiment were given letters of the alphabet. Which letter was not used?
21. Companies within a regiment were given letters of the alphabet. Which letter was not used?
A. “J”
22. How many Civil War monuments are there in the city of Grand Rapids and where are they?
22. How many Civil War monuments are there in the city of Grand Rapids and where are they?
A. TEN:
Michigan Cavalry Brigade (1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th Michigan Cavalry)
1st Michigan Infantry
3rd Michigan Infantry
4th Michigan Infantry
5th Michigan Infantry
7th Michigan Infantry
24th Michigan Infantry
16th Michigan Infantry
The Michigan Sharpshooters
9th Michigan Battery
23. Who was the slave who piloted a Confederate gunboat to the Union Navy with his family and friends on board?
1st Michigan Infantry
3rd Michigan Infantry
4th Michigan Infantry
5th Michigan Infantry
7th Michigan Infantry
24th Michigan Infantry
16th Michigan Infantry
The Michigan Sharpshooters
9th Michigan Battery
23. Who was the slave who piloted a Confederate gunboat to the Union Navy with his family and friends on board?
A. Robert Smalls of South Carolina. He later became a member of Congress.
24. What conspiracy did Elizabeth Bowser and Elizabeth VanLew engage in during the Civil War?
24. What conspiracy did Elizabeth Bowser and Elizabeth VanLew engage in during the Civil War?
A. Elizabeth Bowser worked as a servant in Jeff Davis’ Richmond mansion and relayed information she overheard there to Elizabeth Van Lew, her former mistress and neighbor to Davis. VanLew relayed the information to a Union spy ring in Richmond.
Page last modified June 24, 2011
