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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When talking about how some soldiers' wives felt they had greater responsibility to their families than the founding fathers, a lieutenant from which regiment received letters from his wife complaining about raising three children without him?
(a) 4th Illinois.
(b) 16th Arkansas.
(c) 23rd New Jersey.
(d) 41st Ohio.

2. An Illinois cavalryman, who wrote a letter home on January 12, 1865, used the word "duty" how many times in a single sentence?
(a) 3.
(b) 4.
(c) 8.
(d) 5.

3. In 1863, a thirty-three year old private in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry wrote that his side must win, lest the march of Liberty be held back by all BUT WHICH of these?
(a) Aristocrats.
(b) Kings.
(c) Despots.
(d) Monarchs.

4. 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) Illinois.
(b) Texas.
(c) Virginia.
(d) New Jersey.

5. While talking about the difficulties wives left behind faced, McPherson mentions a sergeant in the 21st Ohio whose wife had written that "your country's cause is my cause." What was her name?
(a) Minie.
(b) MaryAnn.
(c) Elizabeth.
(d) Jenny.

6. After the battle of Antietam a soldier in the 21st Mississippi wrote his parents that he wanted to collect what Yankee body part for his sister, Anna?
(a) Bones.
(b) Scalps.
(c) Ear lobes.
(d) Fingernails.

7. As "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto" opens, which is an essential component, according to McPherson, of the masculine code of honor?
(a) Self-respect.
(b) Revenge.
(c) Duty.
(d) Patriotism.

8. In the discussion of the Emancipation Proclamation, McPherson says that in his sample of Union soldiers, what percentage favored emancipation through the spring of 1863?
(a) 36%.
(b) 72%.
(c) 16%.
(d) 84%.

9. After discussing Civil War soldiers' convictions, what commodity does McPherson say was most sought-after in camp, second to letters from home?
(a) Newspapers.
(b) Chewing gum.
(c) Bandages.
(d) Socks.

10. After the three month Peninsula campaign, a Pennsylvania private wrote that he had lived on how many crackers from Thursday through Monday?
(a) 25.
(b) 4.
(c) 9.
(d) 17.

11. During the discussion of the Confederate response to the Emancipation Proclamation, what percentage of the sample 429 Confederate letters voiced pro-slavery arguments?
(a) 95%.
(b) 65%.
(c) 20%.
(d) 40%.

12. In the discussion of Lincoln's idea that the United States represented the last best hope for the survival of republican government, the world is bestrode by all BUT WHICH of these?
(a) Tyrants.
(b) Despots.
(c) Emperors.
(d) Kings.

13. 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?
(a) Spring Hill.
(b) Nashville.
(c) King's Hill.
(d) Fort Fisher.

14. At the end of "Chapter 7: On the Altar of My Country," McPherson says what percentage of the soldiers that comprised his sample material lost their lives in action?
(a) 21%.
(b) 48%.
(c) 94%.
(d) 14%.

15. As "Chapter 12: The Same Holy Cause" opens, McPherson says that Civil War soldiers never heard of all BUT WHICH of the following terms?
(a) Psychiatric casualties.
(b) Shell shock.
(c) Battle fatigue.
(d) Courage.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. From which state was the major whose letter home during the summer of 1862 contained the line "slavery must be cleaned out," from which the title of the chapter was inspired?

3. The November 8, 1865, diary entry of a sergeant in the 8th Ohio cavalry noted that how many members of his regiment had voted for Lincoln, as opposed to sixteen votes for McClellan?

4. During the discussion of what sustained soldiers during the Civil War, what does McPherson say was a dominant theme in the letters home?

5. In 1862, after two friends had been killed in an ambush in the Shenandoah Valley, a soldier from which state wrote "we are to take no prisoners after this"?

(see the answer keys)

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