Chapter 21:
The Furnace of the Civil War, 1861-1865
1. How long did Lincoln envision the war to last after he called up the 75,000 militia men? (p. 453)
2. Why did Lincoln decide to attack at Bull Run and what was the ultimate goal? Who accompanied the
soldiers as they went to Bull Run to fight? Who won his well-deserved nickname at this battle? Who won
the First Battle of Bull Run? (p. 453)
3. Why does the book say the “military picnic” at Bull Run? How was the Battle of Bull Run paradoxical for
the South and the North? (p. 454)
4. Who was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac. What was his nickname” Describe him. Why did his
troops idolize him? What defects did he have as a general? (p. 454)
5. What do the phrases “All Quiet on the Potomac” and “Tardy George” mean? What did Lincoln finally have
to do in regards to the attack on Richmond? (p. 455)
6. How many men did McClellan bring for the “Peninsular Campaign?” How long did it take him to capture
Yorktown? What did Lincoln have to do right before McClellan reached Richmond? (p. 456)
7. Who launched the devastating counterattack the Seven Days’ Battle? As a result of the counterattack, what
did the Union soldiers do? What were the casualties at the end of the Peninsular Campaign? What happened
to McClellan? (p. 457)
8. What makes Lee’s victory in the Peninsular Campaign ironic? How does Lincoln’s stance on slavery start to
change? (p. 457)
9. How did the Union war strategy change? What were the six components of the Union strategy for victory?
(p. 457)
10. Why did the Northern Navy focus their blockade mostly only at the ports and docks? Who were the most
successful blockade-runners? Why did many Southerners risk bypassing the blockade? (p. 459)
11. What was the Merrimack (later named Virginia)? Who did it fight on March 9, 1862? Why was this battle
important in the history of naval battles? (p. 459)
12. Who did Lee defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run? Where did Lee attack after he won at the Second
Battle of Bull Run? Why? (p. 459)
13. What did some Union soldiers find in a dropped packet of cigars? Who was restored to command of the
Union troops? What battle was fought in Maryland on September 17, 1862? (p. 459)
14. Who won at Antietam? Who was removed from command for the second time? What factors made
Antietam so important in the history of the Civil War? (p. 459)
15. How did the victory at Antietam affect Lincoln in regards to slavery? When was the Emancipation
Proclamation issued? How did the war change after the Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863?
(p. 460)
16. How was the Emancipation Proclamation stronger on proclamation than on emancipation? What ratio of
Southern slaves ran away to Union camps? How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the nature of
the war? What amendment officially ended slavery in 1865? (p. 461)
17. What was the public reaction to the Proclamation? What region of the North was particularly against
Emancipation? How did the South react? (p. 461-462)
18. As many slaves were being emancipated, what did Lincoln want to do at the same time? How many blacks
eventually served in the Union army? What percent of the total soldiers did black soldiers represent? What
state had two exclusively black regiments? (p. 462)
19. Why did many of these black soldiers enlist? How many died during the war? What happened at Fort
‘Pillow? (p. 463)
20. What roles did slaves play in the South for the Confederacy? How did slaves inhibit the Confederate war
effort? How did slaves help the North as “intelligent contraband?” (p. 463)
21. Who replaced McClellan as General of the Army of the Potomac? What was “Burnside’s Slaughter Pen?”
What strategy did Lee use in Chancellorsville? Who replaced Burnside? Who died in that attack? (p. 464)
22. What did Lee plan to do after his stunning victory at Chancellorsville? Who was asked to command the
Army of the Potomac? (p. 464)
23. How many soldiers fought for each side at Gettysburg? How many days did the battle rage on for? What
was the deciding push that ended the battle? (p. 464)
24. What did Jefferson Davis send to Washington D.C as the Battle of Gettysburg occurred? Why is the Battle
of Gettysburg called the “high tide of the Confederacy?” How many more years will the Civil War drag
on? (p. 464-465)
25. How did the London Times and Democratic editors describe Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address? (p. 466)
26. Who was Lincoln’s General in the West? Why did he have to resign from the military? What was he doing
when war broke out? (p. 467)
27. Describe Ulysses S. Grant. Where did he first gain notoriety as a military leader? Why was his victory in
Tennessee so crucial? What battle did Grant lost in April of 1862? Why did Lincoln refuse to replace him?
(p. 466)
28. What city did David G. Farragut seize? What other city on the Mississippi was vital to the South? Who
was put in charge of the army destined to attack Vicksburg? (p. 467)
29. When did Vicksburg fall and surrender? How many days later did Port Charles surrender? Why was this
so important to the Union war effort? (p. 467)
30. What two victories came back to back and were monumental for the Union? How did these victories affect
the war? (p. 467)
31. Why were Grant’s victories in Tennessee significant? How was he rewarded? (p. 468)
32. Who was put in charge of the attack in Georgia? What did he do to Atlanta in November 1864? What did
he do after he had taken and burned Atlanta? (p. 468)
33. How was Sherman a practitioner of “total war?” How did the South view Sherman? (p. 468)
34. After taking Savannah, where did Sherman go next? How did his soldiers treat South Carolina? (p.469)
35. What issues did Lincoln face within his own party during the election of 1864? What was the
Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War? (p. 469)
36. What Northern Democrat died seven weeks into the war? How did his death cause problems for the
Northern Democrats? What happened to the Northern Democrats? (p. 470)
37. State what each faction of the Northern Democrats supported: War Democrats, Peace Democrats, and
Copperheads.
38. Who was Clement L. Vallandigham? What is his story? (p. 470)
39. Who made up the Union Party? Who did they nominate for President? Who was nominated vice-
president? Why was he chosen? (p. 471)
40. Who did the Copperheads and other Democrats nominate for president in 1864? Who won the election?
What helped Lincoln win the election? What was the electoral and popular vote? (p. 472-473)
41. Who did Lincoln replace Meade with? Why did he choose Grant? Where did Grant attack Lee? How
many soldiers did Grant lose? (p.473)
42. Was Grant’s reputation as ‘Grant the Butcher” fair? What type of war did Lee try to fight towards the end?
Why did he have to do this? (p. 474)
43. Why did the initial peace not work? What happened in April 9, 1865? (p. 474)
44. What happened on April 14, 1865? Who assassinated President Lincoln? Why did many in the South later
realize that his death was a calamity for them? (p. 475)
45. Why does the author argue Lincoln would not have been impeached like Johnson? (p. 475)
46. How many men died in the Civil War? How many combined were either killed or seriously wounded?
What were the direct costs of the war? What was laid to rest as a result of the war? (p. 476)
47. What was one of the subconscious aims of the war effort? How did the Civil War affect other nations?