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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the discussion of combat stress reaction, readers learn that this phenomenon was most common during which year of the Civil War?
(a) 2nd.
(b) 3rd.
(c) 4th.
(d) 1st.

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) 5.
(c) 8.
(d) 4.

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?
(a) 158.
(b) 25.
(c) 243.
(d) 367.

4. After the Seven Days battles, a private in the 58th Virginia wrote that through August and September his regiment had waded the Potomac how many times?
(a) 6.
(b) 4.
(c) 12.
(d) 2.

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

6. In the discussion of a Louisiana cavalry sergeant who'd been the headmaster of a boys' school prior to enlisting, by what battle does the soldier cite Yankee hatred as his reason to fight?
(a) Belmont.
(b) Vicksburg.
(c) Pleasant Hill.
(d) Mesilla.

7. When a twenty-five year old soldier in the 2nd Vermont married his fiancee during a furlough in "Chapter 10: We Know That We are Supported at Home," how many months was he with her during the first year of marriage?
(a) 7.
(b) 1.
(c) 4.
(d) 10.

8. 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.

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

10. While attempting to define the "glorious institutions" that kept men fighting during the Civil War, a soldier from which state defined it as "the guaranty of the rights of property, liberty of action, freedom of thought, religion...that kind of government that shall assure life liberty & the pursuit of happiness"?
(a) Virginia.
(b) Michigan.
(c) Kentucky.
(d) Ohio.

11. In the discussion of Southern bitterness toward the North, from which state was the corporal who wrote it would be best "if the whole Yankee race could be swept from the face of the earth"?
(a) Virginia.
(b) Kentucky.
(c) North Carolina.
(d) Georgia.

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

13. 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) 48%.
(b) 21%.
(c) 14%.
(d) 94%.

14. 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) Bull Run.
(c) Fredericksburg.
(d) Malvern Hill.

15. When discussing the assertions of patriotism as a motivation for fighting, what percentage of the 429 Confederate letters and diaries used as sources affirmed this motivation?
(a) 27%.
(b) 66%.
(c) 84%.
(d) 43%.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the discussion of the hardships for soldiers' wives, what percentage of officers does McPherson say were married in his sample?

2. 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?

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. In the discussion of the psychological and physiological issues soldiers faced in 1864, modern studies have shown that a unit is exhausted if it twice suffers what fraction of casualties?

5. After the battle of Antietam, the colonel of the 20th Massachusetts disappeared and was later found wandering without food or water and without having changed clothes for how long?

(see the answer keys)

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