Civil War Flashcards
(196 cards)
1
Q
what was the purpose of the iron plates and iron armor used on vessels during the Civil War?
A
To protect the vessels from iron shot
2
Q
vessels equipped with iron plates were referred to as what?
A
ironclad vessels
3
Q
what was the name of the CSS Virginia before it was raised and rebuilt by the Confederates?
A
USS Merrimack
4
Q
What did President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ensure?
A
France and England would not enter the Civil War on the side of the South because it would label them as a supporter of a slave nation
5
Q
How did the Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah enjoy great success against Northern shipping?
A
- The raider wreaked havoc among Union whaling ships in the Aleutian Islands near Alaska
- It almost destroyed the whaling industry
6
Q
What was the name of the first and only submersible vessel used in the Civil War?
A
H.L. Hunley
7
Q
Name the states that joined the Confederacy after the fall of Fort Sumter.
A
Arkansas
Tennessee
North Carolina
Virginia
8
Q
What one thing besides concern for overseas trade haunted American life and commerce in the late 1840s?
A
slavery
9
Q
Who was Lincoln’s secretary of the Navy?
A
Gideon Welles
10
Q
TRUE or FALSE. During the Civil War, the South had superiority over the North in heavy industry
A
FALSE
11
Q
What battle in July 1861 ended in a Northern defeat just a few miles from Washington, D.C.?
A
The First Battle of Bull Run
12
Q
What was one key lesson the Navy learned in its successful amphibious actions against the South?
A
That even the finest forts ashore were vulnerable to accurate naval gunfire
13
Q
What was the South’s largest and most important port city during the Civil War?
A
New Orleans
14
Q
Who was the H.L. Hunley’s commanding officer?
A
Lieutenant George Dixon
15
Q
TRUE or FALSE. Fort Fisher was the key to Confederate defenses at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.
A
TRUE
16
Q
TRUE or FALSE. From the beginning of the war, Secretary Welles and the North looked upon Charleston as the hotbed of secession.
A
TRUE
17
Q
What had become the mainstay of the South’s agricultural economy (rice, tobacco, indigo, and cotton) during the 1800s?
A
slavery
18
Q
What amendment to the Constitution in 1865 was passed by Congress that finally ended slavery in the United States?
A
The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution
19
Q
TRUE or FALSE. The entire Confederate river navy was destroyed on the Mississippi River except for the unfinished ironclad ram Arkansas.
A
TRUE
20
Q
TRUE or FALSE. The Confederacy had a powerful Navy when the Civil War began.
A
FALSE
21
Q
What was the name of the river that fell under Union Navy control in 1863?
A
The Mississippi River
22
Q
TRUE or FALSE. The Southern leadership had control of its economic demands of modern war and was able to foresee its battlefield needs.
A
FALSE
23
Q
What brigadier general led a joint force(Feb. 1862) of Navy gunboats and Union Army volunteers in capturing Fort Henry in north-central Tennessee?
A
Ulysses S. Grant
24
Q
What Union hero of the war made a move on the key city of New Orleans while Grant was making a name for himself by winning the important central Mississippi Valley?
A
David Farragut
25
who commanded the Army of the Potomac?
General Grant
26
who commanded the Western Army and marched on Atlanta?
General Sherman
27
besiege
the act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the defenders and thereby making capture possible
28
What were the design flaws with the Tennessee
* Buchanan's fleet
* had 4 ships
* only had 16 guns
*on the other hand, Farragut's fleet had 18 ships and 159 guns.
29
USS Tecumseh
struck a Confederate mine and sank with her crew of 100
30
USS Brooklyn
stopped in the middle of the channel nearly causing a Union disaster
31
USS Hartford
* David Farragurt surveyed the scene from the rigging, and taking a calculated risk, shouted the famous words "Damn the torpedoes!"
* And "Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead! Joust, full speed!"
32
calculated risk
a chance of failure, the probability of which is estimated before some action is undertaken
33
confederate mines
defective mines(torpedoes) allowed the Union fleet to proceed without another detonation
34
CSS Selma
* was captured
* Gaines was sunk
* Morgan escaped to the city
* Tennessee retired under the gins of Fort Morgan
35
Who wanted to sink the Hartford?
Admiral Buchanan
36
When Admiral Buchanan was wounded, what did he order the captain of the Tennessee to do?
surrender
37
why did the Tennessee had to surrender?
* Admiral Buchanan was wounded
* Its gun ports were jammed
* Gun deck was full of suffocating heat/smoke
38
What was the end of the Confederate Navy?
loss of Mobile Bay
39
shock troops
troops especially selected, trained, and equipped for engaging in assault
40
Sherman's march to the sea
Sherman's 60,000 shock troops made a path of destruction 60 miles wide to Savannah
41
What place was the only port still open to Confederate blockade runners?
Wilmington, NC
42
What place was the key to Confederate defenses at Cape Fear?
Fort Fisher, NC
43
parapet
a defensive wall of elevation, as of earth or stone, in a fortification
44
Who surrendered after the northern parapets were breached?
the Confederate forces
45
amphibious attack on fort fisher
the fort fisher expedition was the only large-scale joint amphibious attack against a strongly fortified position during the war
46
Union Navy at Fort Fisher
* Navy's last significant action in the Civil war
* Union Navy had accomplished every job it had been assigned
47
What did President Lincoln release after the victory at Fort Fisher?
Navy had nothing left for their ships to do
48
What generals was the final battle against?
Lee vs. Grant
49
General Grants plan on the Final Battle
* Could now outflank Lee's forces
* His forces relentlessly attacked Lee's forces, and the Union suffered tremendous loss
50
General Lee's plans for the Final Battle
* Made his final attack on 25 March 1865
* With heavy losses, he was forced to abandon Petersburg
51
Who surrenders o who in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's home on 9 April 1865 for the last battle?
Lee surrendered to Grant
52
Who raised the Union flag on 14 April over Fort Sumter?
Major General Robert Anderson
53
Who was captured on 10 May 1865
Jefferson Davis
54
In 1865, who ceased to exist while who was preserved
Confederacy; Union
55
Why was the war precipitates changed?
* Oil was discovered
* Canning was developed
* Innovative weapons of war employed
* Medical care and other innovations were improved
* Cameras were used to record the battles
* Railroads and telegraph became indispensable communication links
56
Who was the superintendent of nurses for the Union Army?
Dorothea Dix
57
what did Dorothea Dix do?
* Recruited men and women to perform nursing duties
* founder of the red cross
58
TRUE or FALSE. When the war precipitates changed, the Navy grew to over 600 ships.
TRUE
59
Who's overall grand strategy won the war?
Lincoln's and Grant's
60
tactician
a person is adept in planning tactics
61
interior lines of communication
a means of sending private or hidden messages, orders, etc., within an organization
EX.
a Civil War general/admiral sending orders to battlefield commanders
62
movement by what was faster than land?
movement by sea
63
what strategic lessons have been studied since the Civil War?
Geopolitical and strategic lessons about land vs. sea power
64
who was elected president in 1860?
Abraham Lincoln
65
Who was the President of the Confederate States of America?
Jefferson Davis
66
Who set up the blockades, the South or the North?
North
67
Name the first state to declare itself independent from the Union
South Carolina
68
Where did the Civil War begin?
Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC
69
Name the first states to break away from the Union.
South Carolina
Mississippi
Florida
Alabama
Georgia
Louisiana
Texas
70
What two countries were considering recognizing the South or taking sides with the South?
England and France
71
Who was General Robert E. Lee?
The leader of the Confederate army
72
What was the turning point of the war?
The North's victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg on the same day
73
Who was the most famous and successful of the Confederate cruiser skippers?
Captain Semmes
74
Who was the Ulysses Grant?
The leader of the Union army
75
Why did the Union Navy set up blockades?
To cut off the South's ability to import and export goods
76
What did the Emancipation Proclamation promise?
Freedom to all slaves within the territories still in rebellion on 1 January 1863
77
Who called for privateers at the beginning of the war?
Jefferson Davis
78
To whom did General Lee surrender?
General Grant
79
Where did General Lee surrender to General Grant?
In the parlor of Wilmer McLean's home, Appomattox Court House, VA
80
In what year did the Civil War begin?
1861
81
Was slavery a major political issue for new states joining the Union?
Yes
82
By the 1840s,, the North had developed what type of economy?
An industrial economy based on water power and coal for energy
83
What types of crops was the South's agricultural economy based on?
Tobacco
Rice
Cotton
Indigo plants
84
Who was appointed Ironclad Board of Officers?
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
85
Who was awarded contract to build first Union ironclad steamship?
John Ericsson
86
Ericsson incorporated 40 new patents in the design of what ship?
Monitor
87
Monitor
Steam-propelled, armored warship of very low freeboard, having one or more turrets and used for coastal defense
The first of such warships was used against the Confederate ironclad warship Virginia at Hampton Roads, VA, in 1862
88
turret
a domelike, sometimes heavily armored structure, usually revolving horizontally, within which guns are mounted, as on a fortification, ship, or aircraft
89
Who was the commanding officer of the USS Monitor(commissioned 25 Feb 1862)
LT John L. Worden
90
The Unions plan was to land at Fort Monroe and what?
threaten Richmond
91
Who led the attack on Richmond?
General George McClellan
92
Name the Union Blockade Ships
USS Congress
USS Cumberland
93
Who relieved Commander Buchanan when he was struck by a Mini ball?
LT Catesby Jones
94
What ship was run aground and too far into the shoal waters to accurately be fired upon?
USS Minnesota
95
What ship took the position near the USS Minnesota to protect her from the USS Virginia?
USS Monitor
96
TRUE or FALSE. The USS Monitor was more maneuverable, but her guns could not penetrate the USS Virginia's armor.
TRUE
97
Who took command of the Monitor when LT Worden was injured?
LT Samuel Greene
98
TRUE or FALSE. The battle between the two vessels was indecisive. Within a year, the USS Virginia was blown ip to prevent capture, and the Monitor sank in a storm off the Carolina Capes.
TRUE
99
When was the wreck of the USS Monitor discovered
1973
Some parts have even been recovered(engine and turret)
100
Who was the commander o the Confederate Army of Virginia?
General Robert E. Lee
101
Seven Day's Battle
* Lee pushed McClellan back from Richmond
* McClellan's army was forced to withdraw to defend Washington
* Lee hoped to gain Maryland as the Confederate State and move into Pennsylvania
102
What did Lee want to gain during the Seven's Day Battle?
Diplomatic recognition
Military aid form the European countries
103
diplomatic recognition
the formal acknowledgement conveying approval or sanction of one nation by another nation
104
What battle was the bloodiest one dat action of the entire war?
Battle of Antietam Creek
105
In the battle of Antietam Creek, who withdrew from Maryland to Virginia?
General Lee
106
Who announced the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on 22 September 1862?
President Lincoln
107
emancipation proclamation
promised freedom to all slaves within the territories still in rebellion on 1 January 1863
108
Many liberated slaves joined what forces?
Union forces
109
Thirteenth amendment
* Passed by Congress in 1865
* Ended slavery in the United States
110
What contributed to the failure of the Union to take Vicksburg in 1862?
* Water depth
* Lack of Army/Navy coordination
111
What people worked out a scheme to put a pincers movement against Vicksburg?
Rear Admiral David Porter worked out a scheme with General Ulysses Grant and General William Sherman
112
pincers movement
a military maneuver in which both flanks of an enemy force are attacked with the aim of attaining complete encirclement
113
After how many failed attempts by the Union to take Vicksburg, did who settle in for a siege of the city?
after 3 failed attempts
Grant settled
114
How many days and nights did Porter's mortar boats rain destruction on Vicksburg?
40 days and nights
115
What happened on 4 July 1863
31,000 Confederate troops surrendered
116
mortar
a cannon very short in proportion to its bore, for firing shells at high angles
117
When Port Hudson surrendered, what river went under Union control?
Mississippi River
118
Robert E. Lee took on the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville and what happened?
* He won
*But, lost his officer Stonewall Jackson who was killed by one of his own men
119
What battle was the bloodiest and most decisive battle of the war?
Battle of Gettysburg
120
TRUE or FALSE. Confederate and Union forces were not probing for weaknesses in each other's lines
FALSE
(they were)
121
What happened after a 2-hour artillery barrage?
* General George Pickett led a 15,000-strong Confederate charge at Cemetery Ridge
*Some managed to reach the Union lines but were killed or thrown back
122
artillery barrage
a heavy barrier of artillery (cannon) fire to protect one's own advancing or retreating troops or to stop the advance of enemy troops
123
What happened after General Pickett's failed charge at Cemetery Ridge?
General Lee was forced to begin his retreat back to Virginia, leaving over 20,000 casualties on the fields of Gettysburg
124
Fort Sumter purpose
main ship channel to Charleston went directly past Fort Sumter
125
What are the 2 names of the Confederate engineers who designed Fort Sumter's defenses?
General Beauregard
General Ripley
126
Fort Sumter used many what in order to fortify its integrity against the enemy?
gabions
127
gabion
cylinder of wickerwork filled with earth, used as a military defense
128
TRUE or FALSE. Many of the surrounding waters of Fort Sumter were mined.
TRUE
129
What did Pickett fences help do?
* Helped protect the walls
* Helped protect the walls of Fort Sumter from the enemy scaling the walls
*hard to climb or penetrate
130
foray
a quick, sudden attack
131
Who led a 9-ironclad Union attack?
Admiral Samuel Dupont
132
What ship was sunk after being struck over 90 times by Confederate shells?
USS Keokok
133
Who's attack was ineffective on Fort Sumter and what happened?
Admiral Samuel Dupont and he was relieved of command
134
Charleston Falls
* Admiral John Dahlgren and General Gillmore placed Charleston under siege and forced its surrender
* Turned their guns on Fort Sumter and reduced it to rubble
* Confederates refused to surrender
*Subsequent naval and amphibious assults also failed
135
What were Davids designed to do?
TO ram Union vessels with a spar armed with a charge of gunpowder.
The explosive was then detonated by yanking a long cord
136
detonate
to cause (something explosive) to explode
to explode with suddenness and violence
137
What ship was badly damaged by a David?
New Ironsides
138
What was the world's first submarine warship?
H.L. Hunley
139
What was the H.L. Hunley designed to do?
* pull a torpedo into the side of a ship
*was powered by 8 or 9 men turning a crankshaft
140
After 4 crews drowned in sea trials, who prohibited H.L. Hunley from being submerged again?
General Beauregard
141
What was the Hunley redesigned to do?
to operate more like a David, attacking with a spar torpedo
142
What happened when the HUnley attacked the USS Housatonic?
* charge exploded before the Hunley could get away
* The Housatonic sank in less than 5 minutes
* The Hunley and her 5th crew were lost
143
Declaration of Paris of 1856
Major European countries, except Spain, declared privateering illegal
144
Effects of blockade running
before: $6.50/ton for salt
after: $1,700/ton for salt
Besides, the odds of a blockade runner begin captured were only 1 in 4
145
Confederate commerce raiding by cruisers such as the CSS Alabama
* Mostly foreign built with foreign crews and Southern officers
* Caused the decline of the Northern merchant marine
146
amuck
to rush about in a murderous frenzy
to rush about wildly; lose self-control
147
CSS Chickamauga (cruisers) purpose
* weaken the blockade
* keep over 100 union ships busy
148
What ship was the most famous and successful of the Confederate cruiser skippers?
CSS Chickamauga
149
CSS Sumter
* Captured 17 Union ships before being cornered in Gibraltar
150
Who sold CSS Sumter and made his was to England?
Captain Raphael Semmes
151
CSS Alabama
* Sailed to Portugal to pick up armament
* Crewed by Engulf and Irish volunteers
* Raised the Confederate ensign
* Sank 20 ships in the North Atlantic
* Cruised the world's oceans for 18 months sinking Union vessels
152
Where was CSS Alabama's last battle?
Cherbourg, France
153
USS Kearsarge
* French refused Semmes docking rights when the Kearsarge arrived off Cherbourg, France
* Semmes challenged Winslow to a single-ship duel
154
Deerhound ship
* Observed the action
Kearsarge was a faster vessel with better ammunition
* Alabama began to sink
* Semmes tried to back his ship
* Deerhound picked up survivors and took them to England
155
CSS Shenandoah effect on whaling
* Wreaked havoc on Union whaling ships in the Aleutians
*All but destroyed the American whaling industry
156
what was the focus of maritime interests in the 1840s?
overseas trade and immigration
157
TRUE or FALSE. Slavery was the prime importance to the average American of the early 1800s.
FALSE
(slavery was NOT the prime importance)
158
slave trade has been illegal since when?
1820
159
what did the Southern economy vs. Northern economy depended on?
Southern: slavery to be profitable
Northern based on commerce & industry
160
what was a moral and commercial issue?
slavery
161
what was the Missouri compromise of 1820?
it stipulated that a balance between slave and free states had to be maintained as new states entered the Union
162
When did the Missouri Compromise end?
* Until the Kansas-Nebraska Act
*This act eliminated the compromise and made it possible for slavery to be introduced into new territory based on the decision of the residents
163
When did the threat to stop slavery intensify?
In 1859 when John Brown raided the Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia and called for a general insurrection of Southern slaves
164
Election of 1860
* Lincoln won
*with 40% of popular vote
*NO Southern electoral votes
165
In December 1860, which state secedes?
South Carolina
166
secede
to withdraw formally from an alliance, federation, or association, as from a political union
167
What did Southern officers have to choose between?
Loyalty to their country
Or
Ties to their homes
168
Where did the civil war start?
Fort Sumter
169
What were North advantages?
* Heavy industry
* Railroad system
* $331 million in exports
170
What were South disadvantages?
* No foundries or metal works
* transportation system
* only $31 million in exports
171
the south was dependent on what?
importation of food
172
Why was the Confederacy near starvation by war's end?
b/c of the Union blockade
173
blockade
the isolating, closing off, or surrounding of a place, as a port, harbor, or city, by hostile troops to prevent entrance or exit
174
South's Emotions and wishful thinking
* major war not expected
* north would quickly tire of casualties and losses
* unstable politics in the north
* borders states' sympathies
175
king cotton
south had no idea about the economic demands of a modern war
*believed that once Northern blockade cut off king cotton, it would force these countries to help the southern cause from economic reasons
176
strengths of the south
* officer corps
* vast territoy
* loyalty to cause
177
Davis' miscaluclations
* British and French observed blockade
* europeans had huge inventories of cotton
* south needed crash reserves
178
Blockade expansion by end of 1862
* blockade depended upon coal and other supplies
* union established bases in Confederate territory
179
who was responsible for improved naval ordnance?
Commander John Dahlgren
180
Where was Lt General Thomas Jackson given the nickname "stonewall"?
First Battle of Bull Run
181
What did the Northern effect at Bull Run result in?
* Lincoln extending enlistments from 3 months to 3 years
* Northern army digging in around capital
182
Trent Affair
Confederate President Davis appointed John Slidell and James Mason as diplomatic agents in October 1861 with power to enter into conventions for treats with England and France
After arriving in Havana, Cuba, they boarded a British steamship, the Trent
Mason was headed for England and Slidell for France
183
Who were the 2 southern ambassadors sent to Europe by Jefferson Davis?
John Slidell
James Mason
184
What captain and ship intercepted the Trent and removed Slidell and Mason by force?(a violation of international law)
Captain Charles Wilkes on the San Jacinto
185
What were the first U.S. ironclads?
Union River Gunboats
186
USS Carondelet
Ran the Confederate batteries and destroyed the guns on the Tennessee side
187
How did New Orleans' loss impact the south?
* The Confederacy was not recognized by the British and the French
* The Confederacy had little chance to survive after the loss of a major port
* Union naval forces & armies converged from the North and South on Vicksburg, Mississippi, the major remaining Confederate fortress on the river
188
The entire Confederate Navy(except one) was destroyed on what river?
Mississippi River at Memphis
CSS Arkansas was the only one not
189
bombardment
to attack or batter with artillery fire
190
Who's fleet patrolled, transported troops, protected the Unions Army's flanks, and prevented Confederate relief of the city of Vicksburg?
David Farragut's fleet
191
What did Stephen Mallory believe?
the Merrimack would drive Union blockaders from the mouth of the Chesapeake
192
who as the confederate secretary of the Navy?
Stephen Mallory
193
CSS Virginia (ex-Merrimack)
* Speed of 4 knots
* Drew too much water
* Danger to wooden vessels
*deck overlaid with iron plates
* iron ram
* had guns, rifles, and pivot guns
194
who was the first superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy?
Commander Franklin Buchanan
195
Who was Commander Franklin Buchanan
* Commanded the CSS Virginia
* Received Confederate Commission
* Resigned his U.S. navy commission
196
what ship was ready to fight in March 1862?
CSS Virginia
