Bloody Bill Anderson: I'll First Ask When and Where Bill Anderson Was Born. Then, I'll

Louisa May Alcott:First, I'll ask when and where Louisa May Alcott was born. Then, I'll ask how she and her family felt about the issues of slavery and secession in the years before the Civil War. Did they have strong feelings about slavery? If so, what were those feelings? And how dedicated was she and family to preserving the Union? Who were the best known friends of her family, and how did they influence her views on these subjects? When the war began, how old was she, and did she have any men friends or relatives who volunteered for the Union army? Why did Louisa decide to help the Union cause, when did she begin to be a nurse and to care for wounded, and where was this? How did she react to what she saw? Here, I'll ask you to tell us one particular story from her writing about the sad and gory things she saw while helping the soldiers? How long did she continue as a nurse before she returned home? Did she get sick, and if so, what was the disease and how long did it last? What did her family think of her work--were they proud of her or did they think she was foolish? What was the name of the book which she wrote about her nursing experience? Did she help the Union cause in other ways besides nursing? I'll also ask about one of her most famous books, "Little Women"--when did she write this, and what did she write about her family or herself during the Civil War in the book? Finally, I'll ask what we can learn about women in the Civil War from her story.

Bloody Bill Anderson: I'll first ask when and where Bill Anderson was born. Then, I'll ask how he felt about the major issues facing the North and South as he grew up, especially slavery and secession. Did he have a strong opinion on these topics? If so, what were his opinions? If not, why not? Then, I'll ask where he was living when the Civil War began in 1861--did he have a career or job? If so, what was it? Did he favor the Confederacy strongly when the war began, or did something happen to push him toward the South? You should talk about the deaths of some women he knew while they were in prison, and then describe how he reacted to their deaths. Why did he become a guerilla leader? Why didn't he join the regular Confederate army? When did he raiding and guerilla fighting begin? How many guerilla did he ride with, and how soon did he become the leader of a band? How did he and his fellow guerillas try to damage the Union army--was it mostly ambushes of soldiers? Capturing of supplies? Or was it a combination of these? How did he get his nickname "Bloody" Bill? Did he and his men kill pro-Northern civilians? Did they murder or hang people? How did they mutilate their victims? Scalping? Cutting off body parts? Don't spare any details. Then, I'll ask you about the infamous raid at Centralia, and I'll ask what happened--be ready to tell us this story in detail. When did Bill himself get killed, and how did it happen? Why did he kill so viciously? Was it being mentally deranged? Or was it just something which he found that he enjoyed? You should rely on the theories provided in your sources. Finally, I'll ask what "Bloody" Bill's career can teach us about the Civil War.

Lewis Armistead: I'll first ask you when and where Armistead was born, and about his education as a soldier--did he go to West Point? How well did he do there? Where was he stationed in the army before the Civil War, and what was the highest rank he earned? Then, I'll ask about his friendship with Winfield Scott Hancock--when and where did they meet and how close was their friendship in California? How many years did they stay in California as friends? Then, I'll ask about why Armistead chose the South when the war came, and how Hancock chose the North. How did Armistead feel about leaving his friend Hancock to fight on the other side? Tell us about the pledge they made not to fight against each other in the war if possible. Then, I'll move to Armistead's career during the war--what were the major battles he fought in and how many troops did he command as part of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia? I'll them move to the battle of Gettysburg--what happened to Armistead and his men on July 3, during Pickett's Charge? How did Armistead die? He knew that Hancock's men were opposing him, and did Armistead ever get to see Hancock on that day before he died? Where was Armistead buried? Finally, I'll ask what the story of Armistead and his friendship with Hancock can teach us about the Civil War.

Clara Barton: First, I’ll ask where Clara Barton was born, and what experience with nursing or healing others did she have when she was young? How did this influence her, and how was she influenced by Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War ? Why didn’t Clara Barton marry and have children when she was a young woman? What made her more independent than other women of her time? Then, I’ll ask why she favored the Union and the North when the Civil War broke out—was she strongly against slavery or an abolitionist? Or was her loyalty to the North and the Union more about her desire to keep the Union together? When the war broke out, what job was she doing, and where was she living, and were there many other women doing that type of job? Then, we’ll move to her nursing—when and why did she first decide to nurse soldiers? In which battle did she start her nursing, and how did she try to help the wounded soldiers? What did she do for them? Did she join a nursing organization and receive training, or did she simply go to the Union army and offer her help? How did the male doctors respond to her? I’ll also ask about her experience as a nurse during the Battle of Antietam? How close to the fighting was she while she was nursing the soldiers? What were the conditions like? Here, you should give gory details of the blood, the wounds, and how one wounded man was killed by a bullet which went through her sleeve. Did she assist in surgery and amputations, or did she mainly apply bandages, feed men, and comfort them? Did Clara Barton stay in one area during the war to serve as a nurse, or did she follow the armies far and wide to help the wounded? Then, we’ll move to her search for missing soldiers after the war—how and why did she get involved in this effort? How successful was she at finding out what happened to soldiers and letting their families know? About how many soldiers did she find—either dead or alive? Finally, we’ll move to her life after the war and her role as founder of the American Red Cross. How did she get this idea? When did she first organize the American Red Cross, and what was its purpose? How long did Clara Barton lead the organization before she died?

Mary Mother Bickerdyke:I'll first ask where Mary Bickerdyke was born. Then, I'll ask about her life before the Civil War began--did she marry and have a family? Did she enter a profession? Was she a nurse already with experience when the war began? Why did she side so strongly with the Union? Was it her views against slavery, or was it her deep feeling for the Union? Then, I'll ask how she got involved with helping the Union soldiers with their health and sanitation. What motivated her to volunteer and to go to the armies to inspect the conditions in the camps and hospitals? Was she working with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, or did she work independently on her own? Where and when did she first visit the soldiers' camps, and which Union army did she visit? What were the conditions in the hospital and camp, and what did she do to improve these conditions? You should tell us a particular story here, with lots of gory detail, to illustrate how things were and how Mary was determined to improve it. What did she teach the soldiers about proper drinking supply, preventing disease, cleaning up, and cooking? Did she meet much opposition from Union officers because she was a woman? If so, how did she deal with it? Did she ever back down in the face of this opposition? Here, you should find a good story to illustrate her courage and her determination. Why did the soldiers nickname her "mother"? How did she get along with the soldiers and what did she call them? Did Mary travel and stay with one particular army, or did she travel from one army to another, coordinating sanitary work and improving health conditions? What did Union General Sherman say about Mary when one of his officers complained that she was interfering too much with his men and his camp? Is there any particular episode which dramatically shows how Mary's actions actually saved lives? Did she write about her experiences during the war? Was she paid for all of her work, or was she strictly a volunteer? If there's time, I'll ask about how long Mary lived after the war, and what she did as a profession afterward. Finally, I'll ask what we can learn today from studying her life.

John Wilkes Booth:I'll first ask where and when John Wilkes Booth was born, and why he grew up sympathizing with the South rather than the North. What did he do for a living before and during the Civil War? How did he help the Confederate cause when the war began? Did he enlist to fight for the Confederates? Why or why not? What was his opinion of President Lincoln during the war? Then, I'll ask you about his plot to kidnap Lincoln--who were the people who helped him develop this plan? What did he plan to do with Lincoln once he kidnapped the president? Did Booth ever try to kidnap Lincoln? Did he ever come close to trying this? Then, I'll ask when Booth changed his plan to killing Booth. Who else was in on this plot, and who besides Lincoln was going to be killed? What was Booth's hope by doing this? Did he think the South could still win its independence this way? Or was he just after revenge, or a combination of both? Then, we'll move to the day of the assassination--we saw a brief summary in the video yesterday, but I'd like you to go into more detail and how Booth prepared for the assassination. You should describe what happened, and how successful the other parts of the plot. What did Booth really cry out as he leaped onto the stage? Where did he go after he left the theatre? Did he find a doctor to work on his leg and who was the doctor? Did this doctor get into trouble for doing this? What did Southerners think of Booth--did they praise him as a hero or condemn his murder of Lincoln? How many days was Booth on the loose, and when and where was he caught? What are some of the thoughts he left in his diary during this time? How as Booth killed? Why didn't Booth surrender? Finally, I'll ask what we can learn from studying his life.

Belle Boyd: I'll start by asking where and when Belle Boyd was born, and then I'll ask about why she was such a strong Southern patriot during the Civil War, and why she decided to become a spy. Was she approached by someone in the Confederacy to spy, or was she inspired to help by Stonewall Jackson and his Shenandoah Valley campaign, or was it something else? I'll also ask about her specific spy missions: what kind of information did she get, how did she get it, and then how did she get it to the Confederates? How did she help Stonewall Jackson's troops during the Shenandoah Valley campaign? Did she ever get caught or come close to being caught? How long was she a spy--throughout the entire war or for just short periods of time? Besides spying, how else did she help the Confederate cause? I'll also ask if her family suffered because of the war and the invasion and destruction of the Shenandoah valley, and then, if there's time, I'll ask you to summarize her life after the war. I believe she became an actress, so you should tell us briefly about that. Finally, I'll ask you why we should still learn about Belle Boyd today and what she can teach us?

Matthew Brady: I'll first ask where and when Matthew Brady was born. Then, I'll ask how and why he became interested in photography. Did he know he wanted to study it when he was young? Where did he learn the craft of photography and when did he open his first photography business? What type of photographs did he specialize in before the Civil War began, and how successful was his business? Then, after the Civil War began, how did he expand his business and what kinds of photographs did he mostly take early in the war? Why did he decide to start photographing the dead after battle, and what was the first battlefield that he went to? When did Brady set up his exhibit of Antietam photographs in his studio, and how did the public respond to them? Did Brady himself take most of these dead soldier photos, or did he hire people to take most of the photographs? Did his workers often pose the dead to make shots look more pitiful or dramatic? How many people worked for him during the war? Also, I'll ask how long it took to take a photograph and then how long it took to develop it then. How many photographs of President Lincoln did he take, and which one of these has became the best known? I'll put an image of it up on the screen. I'll also ask you to tell us about the portrait which he made of Robert E. Lee shortly after the war ended (Lee is standing on the steps of his home), and also, I'd like you to show his photograph of a dead soldier after the Battle of Gettysburg. I'll put them up on the screen, and then I'll ask you to talk about when the photographs were made, and what messages Brady was trying to express in the photographs. I'll ask you about how many photographs Bradys and his workers made during the war, and then, I'll ask what happened to his photographs of the war after 1865, when the war ended. Where did they end up? How much money did Brady make off them? Finally, I'll ask what Brady's photographs of war can teach us today about how photos and other images can influence peoples' attitudes toward war.

John Brown: First, I’ll ask where and when John Brown was born, and where he grew up. What were the young John Brown’s views about slavery while he was growing up? How religious was he when he was young? Did he have a conversion experience or vision, or did he grow up religious because of his family? How old was he when he stood up in church and pledged to end slavery? Where did this happen, and what were Brown’s exact words? What types of jobs did John Brown do to make a living when he was a young man? Was he ever able to make himself successful at any of these jobs? Did he travel widely or did he live in one place for a long time? How many times did John Brown get married and how many children did he have? How did Brown try to help freed slaves or free black people during his early life? Why did Brown decide to go to Kansas and fight pro-slavery forces there, and once he got there, what did he do to some pro-slavery families? How many of these pro-slavery settlers did Brown and his sons kill, and how did they kill the settlers? Did Brown face any legal prosecution for this act, or did he escape? When did Brown come up with the idea to raid Harper’s Ferry, and why did he pick Harper’s Ferry? How much damage did Brown hope to do to slavery with this raid, and how many slaves did he think he could free? What was his plan for the raid? Give us plenty of detail, a blow by blow account of what Brown expected to happen. How did he prepare for this raid? Did he consult abolitionist leaders and ask for help, and if so, did they help him with money or supplies? What types of weapons did Brown buy in preparation for the raid? On what day and year did the raid take place, and how well did Brown’s plan work at first? When and why did things begin to go wrong? What were Brown’s biggest mistakes or biggest miscalculations, and how did they hurt his chances for success? Where did Brown and his men get surrounded, and how long was it before troops showed up? Which regiment of troops were sent to Harper’s Ferry and which officer commanded them? How long did it take the troops to storm Brown’s defense, and in the process, how many of Brown’s men were wounded and killed? Was Brown himself wounded, and if so, how did it happen and what kind of wound did he suffer? When was Brown’s trial, what were the charges against him, and who was the jury—civilians or military officers? After he was found guilty, on what day was Brown hanged and where? On that day, Brown handed a note to one of his jailers—what did the note say? Did Brown say anything to the crowd before his execution? How did moderate Northerners and abolitionist Northerners respond to Brown’s raid and death? How did most Southerners react to Brown’s raid? How did Brown’s failed raid lead to the rise of the Confederate army , even before the Civil War began? In the end, although Brown failed to end or even to weaken slavery, did he succeed because of the Civil War and the eventual freedom of the slaves?