100+ Civil War Trivia Questions & Answers

Question: Who was elected President of the United States in 1860, triggering Southern secession?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: Which President of the Confederate States led the South during the Civil War?

Answer: Jefferson Davis

Question: Which Union General, later President, led the Union forces to victory in the Civil War?

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

Question: Who was the Confederate General at the Battle of Gettysburg?

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Question: Which President issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: Who was the Union Army General responsible for the March to the Sea?

Answer: William Tecumseh Sherman

Question: Which Union General led his soldiers to victory at the Siege of Vicksburg?

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

Question: Which author and historian is known for writing fact book about the American Civil War and authored "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage"?

Answer: Civil War expert Webb Garrison

Question: Which President delivered the Gettysburg Address during the American Civil War?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: Who led the Confederate Army in the Western Theater?

Answer: Braxton Bragg

Question: Which Union General was in command during the Second Battle of Bull Run?

Answer: John Pope

Question: Who was the Union General at the Battle of Antietam?

Answer: George McClellan

Question: Which Union General served as a key leader at the Battle of Shiloh?

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

Question: Who was the President of the United States assassinated shortly after the Civil War?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: Which Confederate General was known for his famous charge at the Battle of Gettysburg?

Answer: George Pickett

Question: Which President led the United States through the entirety of the America's War?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: Who was the Union General in charge of the Army of the Potomac?

Answer: George McClellan

Question: Who was the Confederate General who surrendered to Union soldiers?

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Question: Who was the Confederate General known as "Stonewall"?

Answer: Thomas J. Jackson

Question: Which Union General led the successful campaign at the Battle of Chattanooga?

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

Question: Who was the Confederate cavalry commander under Lee?

Answer: Jeb Stuart

Question: Who was the Union General in command of the Army of the Cumberland?

Answer: William Rosecrans

Question: Who was the President when the Civil War began?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Question: Who was the Confederate General at the First Battle of Bull Run?

Answer: P.G.T. Beauregard

Question: Which Union General led the Union forces at the Battle of Fredericksburg?

Answer: Ambrose Burnside

Question: Where did the first shots of the American Civil War occur?

Answer: Fort Sumter

Question: Which battle is known as the bloodiest single day in American Civil War history?

Answer: Battle of Antietam

Question: What battle is considered the turning point of the Civil War?

Answer: Battle of Gettysburg

Question: Which battle was the last major conflict of the Civil War?

Answer: Battle of Appomattox Court House

Question: What was the first major battle of the Civil War?

Answer: First Battle of Bull Run

Question: At which battle did Union General Burnside suffer a major defeat?

Answer: Battle of Fredericksburg

Question: Where did the Union achieve a significant victory by capturing a key Confederate stronghold in 1863?

Answer: Siege of Vicksburg

Question: Which battle saw Union forces repel a Confederate invasion into the North?

Answer: Battle of Gettysburg

Question: Which battle was a failed Confederate attempt to regain control of Kentucky?

Answer: Battle of Perryville

Question: Which battle saw the first use of ironclad warships during the Civil War?

Answer: Battle of Hampton Roads

Question: Where did Union forces achieve a critical victory, securing control of the Mississippi River?

Answer: Siege of Vicksburg

Question: What battle marked the end of the Confederacy's last major field army?

Answer: Battle of Appomattox Court House

Question: Where did the Battle of Second Bull Run take place?

Answer: Virginia

Question: Which battle was fought in South Carolina, marking the start of the Civil War?

Answer: Battle of Fort Sumter

Question: What was the primary objective of the Union's Anaconda Plan?

Answer: To blockade Confederate ports and divide the South

Question: Which battle demonstrated the effectiveness of the Union's ironclad warship, USS Monitor?

Answer: Battle of Hampton Roads

Question: Where did the Union achieve a key victory that split the Confederate States in half?

Answer: Siege of Vicksburg

Question: Which battle saw the Union forces successfully capture the Confederate capital?

Answer: Battle of Richmond

Question: What battle marked the beginning of General Sherman's famous March to the Sea?

Answer: Battle of Atlanta

Question: Which battle was the deadliest of the American Civil War, with over 51,000 casualties?

Answer: Battle of Gettysburg

Question: Where did Confederate forces win a significant victory but fail to achieve strategic success?

Answer: Battle of Chickamauga

Question: Which battle saw the Union's first significant victory in the Western Theater?

Answer: Battle of Fort Donelson

Question: Which group made up approximately 10% of the Union Army by the end of the Civil War, significantly contributing to the Union's victory?

Answer: Black soldiers

Question: Which battle marked the last Confederate attempt to invade the North?

Answer: Battle of Gettysburg

Question: Where did Union forces defeat Confederate forces in one of the war's final battles?

Answer: Battle of Five Forks

Question: What was the central issue that led to the American Civil War?

Answer: Slavery

Question: Which proclamation declared all slaves in Confederate states to be free?

Answer: Emancipation Proclamation

Question: What event directly triggered Southern secession?

Answer: Election of Abraham Lincoln

Question: Which state was the first to secede from the Union?

Answer: South Carolina

Question: What was the Confederacy's capital after it was moved from Montgomery?

Answer: Richmond, Virginia

Question: Which country did the Confederacy hope would recognize its independence and support them during the Civil War, but ultimately remained neutral?

Answer: Great Britain

Question: Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery?

Answer: Thirteenth Amendment

Question: What was the name of the Union's plan to blockade Southern ports?

Answer: Anaconda Plan

Question: Which act allowed for the construction of a transcontinental railroad during the Civil War?

Answer: Pacific Railway Act

Question: What was the main economic strategy of the South during the war?

Answer: Cotton Diplomacy

Question: Which political party was in power in the North during the Civil War?

Answer: Republican Party

Question: What was the primary goal of the Union at the start of the Civil War?

Answer: Preserve the Union

Question: Which document is considered the Confederacy's declaration of independence?

Answer: Ordinances of Secession

Question: What was the primary reason the Southern states seceded?

Answer: To preserve slavery

Question: What did the Revenue Act of 1861 introduce to finance the war?

Answer: Income tax

Question: Which act provided land for the creation of agricultural and mechanical colleges?

Answer: Morrill Act

Question: What was the main purpose of the Legal Tender Act of 1862?

Answer: Authorize the issuance of paper currency

Question: Which Confederate General was opposed to secession but sided with his home state?

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Question: Which doctrine stated that states could nullify federal laws they deemed unconstitutional?

Answer: Nullification

Question: What was the Southern belief in the legality of secession based on?

Answer: States' rights

Question: What did the Union victory at Antietam allow President Lincoln to issue?

Answer: Emancipation Proclamation

Question: Which act was passed by Congress to provide land to settlers in the West?

Answer: Homestead Act

Question: What legal principle was challenged by the Southern states' secession?

Answer: Federalism

Question: What was Lincoln's main goal in his Gettysburg Address?

Answer: To reaffirm the principles of liberty and equality

Question: What was the outcome of the Civil War for the Southern states?

Answer: Reintegration into the Union and abolition of slavery

Question: What was the primary weapon used by soldiers during the Civil War?

Answer: Rifled musket

Question: Which type of ship was introduced during the Civil War that revolutionized naval warfare?

Answer: Ironclad warship

Question: What was the name of the first successful Confederate submarine?

Answer: CSS Hunley

Question: Which innovation allowed for faster communication during the Civil War?

Answer: Telegraph

Question: What was the name of the first Union ironclad warship?

Answer: USS Monitor

Question: Which naval battle was the first between ironclad warships?

Answer: Battle of Hampton Roads

Question: What was the purpose of the Union's Anaconda Plan during the Civil War?

Answer: To blockade Confederate ports and divide the South

Question: Which Union General is known for his "total war" strategy?

Answer: William Tecumseh Sherman

Question: What was the main advantage of the repeating rifle introduced during the Civil War?

Answer: Increased rate of fire

Question: Which Confederate warship caused significant damage to Union shipping?

Answer: CSS Alabama

Question: What was the primary mode of transportation for troops and supplies during the Civil War?

Answer: Railroads

Question: Which river was crucial to the Union's strategy in the Western Theater?

Answer: Mississippi River

Question: What was the main purpose of the Union's naval blockade?

Answer: To cut off Confederate trade and supplies

Question: What earlier conflict foreshadowed the tactics and technologies used in World War II, including the use of total war and trench warfare?

Answer: The American Civil War

Question: Which technology allowed for the mass production of weapons during the Civil War?

Answer: Industrial manufacturing

Question: What was the primary role of the U.S. Navy during the Civil War?

Answer: Blockade Confederate ports and control rivers

Question: Which Confederate ship was rebuilt from the Union ship Merrimack?

Answer: CSS Virginia

Question: What was the primary challenge faced by blockade runners during the Civil War?

Answer: Evading Union naval patrols

Question: What innovation in naval warfare was introduced by the Union during the Civil War?

Answer: Turreted warships

Question: Which Union General led the campaign to capture the Mississippi River?

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

Question: What was the name of the Confederate ironclad that fought against the USS Monitor?

Answer: CSS Virginia

Question: Which Confederate General was known for his cavalry tactics during the Civil War?

Answer: Jeb Stuart

Question: What was the main purpose of the Union's riverine warfare strategy?

Answer: To control key waterways in the South

Question: Which Confederate General commanded the Army of Northern Virginia in this American History?

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Question: What was the primary objective of General Sherman's March to the Sea?

Answer: To destroy the South's ability to wage war