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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. In "Chapter 7: On the Altar of my Country," how did soldiers frequently misspell the word "altar"?

3. During the discussion of the American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, what percentage found that "belief in war aims" helped overcome the fear of battle?

4. 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"?

5. After the discussion of the conflict between love of family and love of country, McPherson quotes an Alabama soldier as saying he worried for his wife if they failed. What was his wife's name?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was meant when some soldiers wrote home about being stuck in a "rich man's war," toward the end of "Chapter 7: On the Altar of My Country"?

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

4. Explain the massacres of black soldiers, as discussed in "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto."

5. Describe the information and political education level maintained by soldiers in "Chapter 7: On the Altar of My Country."

6. Based on the discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder, how likely does McPherson consider the possibility that many regiments suffered from this now well-acknowledged psychological issue?

7. In the discussion of revenge, why does McPherson say that the Confederate army was more motivated by hatred and revenge than the Union?

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. When McPherson discusses the extra incentive Confederate soldiers had to keep fighting, what does he say about the Northern opinion of Southern soldiers?

10. Why are there no letters from black Union soldiers, according to "Chapter 9: Slavery Must be Cleaned Out"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the effect of what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder on Civil War soldiers. How did this phenomenon affect their attitudes and effectiveness? Be sure to include supporting information from the book and outside research as necessary.

Essay Topic 2

Pick a quote (at least three sentences) from any soldier McPherson quotes in the book and apply John A. Lynn's three categories to that soldier. Explain how and why Lynn's categories apply to the individual you have chosen, and be sure to include supporting information from the book.

Essay Topic 3

The men who became soldiers during the Civil War era were largely defined by Victorian ideals of manhood. Compare and contrast these ideals--and the soldiers who embodied them--with the modern equivalents. Be sure to include supporting information from the text.

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