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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. From which state was the sergeant, three times wounded, stationed near Vicksburg who described debates in his brigade during the winter of 1863-1964?
(a) New Jersey.
(b) Virginia.
(c) Illinois.
(d) Texas.

2. During the discussion of what sustained soldiers during the Civil War, what does McPherson say was a dominant theme in the letters home?
(a) Anger.
(b) Despair.
(c) Courage.
(d) Homesickness.

3. A forty year old captain of the 18th Massachusetts wrote his wife in August 1862 that he'd rather fight for years than for his sons to continue it. In what battle was he killed four months later?
(a) Shiloh.
(b) Fredericksburg.
(c) Bull Run.
(d) Malvern Hill.

4. When a Pennsylvania cavalry corporal wrote his mother in 1863, he listed his obligations to duty. In what position did he place his obligation to his mother?
(a) 4th.
(b) 3rd.
(c) 1st.
(d) 2nd.

5. Right before the battle of Gettysburg, a lieutenant in the 53rd Georgia wrote to his wife, that Pennsylvania was the greatest country he'd ever seen; what was his wife's name?
(a) Mollie.
(b) Callie.
(c) Cellie.
(d) Mary.

Short Answer Questions

1. While discussing differing interpretations of liberty from North and South, McPherson quotes a Texas cavalryman with Forrest who wrote that the issue was all BUT WHICH of these?

2. As "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto" ends, McPherson says that no army broke until the Army of Tennessee after which of the following battles in 1864?

3. During Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Valley campaign in 1862, some of his men fought five battles in addition to marching how many miles in a single month?

4. From which state was the lieutenant who wrote in March 1862 that he would never "be instrumental in returning a slave to his master in any way shape or manner, I'll die first"?

5. McPherson says that one of the reasons for this famous Confederate general's invasion of Tennessee during November 1864 was a hope to revitalize the troops from that state. What was this general's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the close of "Chapter 12: The Same Holy Cause," what final lessons does McPherson hope readers take from the book?

2. Under what conditions were black soldiers allowed to join the Confederate army during the final year of the Civil War?

3. After discussing how the conflict between love of family and love of country was a major concern for many Confederate soldiers, how does McPherson say the men resolved this dichotomy?

4. In "Chapter 9: Slavery Must be Cleaned Out," what convinced non-abolitionist Union soldiers that slavery was an evil that must be stopped?

5. What challenges did soldiers face in the last year of the Civil War that exacerbated their combat exhaustion?

6. What difference did class and education make in terms of support when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

7. What can be considered ironic about the Confederate fascination with liberty, as discussed in "Chapter 8: The Cause of Liberty"?

8. In the discussion of the mail service, why was it more difficult for the Confederate army to maintain efficient mail service than it was for the Union army?

9. In "Chapter 10: We Know That We are Supported at Home," why did some officers worry that married men made bad soldiers?

10. McPherson denies, in the discussion of liberty, that Southern soldiers were obsessed with slavery. What statistical evidence does he supply to support this?

(see the answer keys)

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