Civil War Trivia Q&A

Civil War Cavalry

Choose an answer from the three choices offered after each question and then  "Check Your Answers" at the end of the quiz.

1. Cavalry forces that fought principally on horseback, armed with carbines, pistols, and what other weapon?

• Sling Shot

• Canon

• Saber

• Machine gun

2. Forces that moved on horseback, but dismounted for fighting on foot, armed principally with rifles.  An example of this was the celebrated "Lightning Brigade" of Col. John T. Wilder, which used horses to quickly arrive at a battlefield such as Chickamauga.  These units were considered?

• Tank Units

• Mounted Infantry

• Supply Units

• Judge Advocate

3. Hybrid forces that were armed as cavalrymen, but were expected to fight on foot as well.  The term comes from the Napoleonic Era, representing a cross between heavy and light cavalry.  Before the war, most cavalry units where called this term?

• Tank Units

• Mounted Infantry

• Supply Units

• Dragoons

4. John Mosby, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and John Hunt Morgan lead these cavalry units.  There is little commonality as to their weapons, in general, any available were used.  These units were called?

• Irregular forces (partisan rangers or guerrillas)

• Mounted Infantry

• Cavalry

• Dragoons

5. During the Gettysburg Campaign, where cavalry under Union General Alfred Pleasanton attempted to find the wide-ranging Army of Northern Virginia on its invasion of the North, and Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart, before he rode around the Union army.  What was their principle functions?

• Reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance screening

• Defensive, delaying actions

• Pursuit and harassment of defeated enemy forces

• Offensive actions

6. Union attempts at strategic raids had mixed success.  However, the raid in the Vicksburg Campaign was a strategic masterpiece that diverted critical Confederate forces away from Ulysses S. Grant's army.  Who lead the raid?

• John J. McCloud

• George Sherman

• George Crook

• Benjamin Grierson

7. Horses gave the cavalry forces significant mobility.  Under typical conditions on a march, how many miles could a cavalry unit cover in an eight-hour day? 

• 75 miles

• 35 miles

• 10 miles

• 20 miles

8. Some mounted forces used traditional infantry rifles.  However, cavalrymen, particularly in the North, were frequently armed with three other weapons.  What was NOT one of these weapons?

• Carbine

• Piston

• Bowie Knife

• Saber

9. In the Eastern Theater, the Partisan Ranger John Singleton Mosby succeeded in tying down Federal troops defending rail lines and logistical hubs with only 100-150 irregulars.  How many Federal troops did Mosby and his troops force to defend the rail lines?

• 5,000 Federal troops

• 15,000 Federal troops

• 25,000 Federal troops

• 40,000 Federal troops

10. In 1864, he was given command of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac and he deployed his horsemen in a more effective, strategic way than his predecessors.  Despite the reluctance of his superior, Major General George G. Meade, he convinced General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant to allow him to deploy the cavalry in long-range raids, the first of which, at Yellow Tavern, resulted in the death of Confederate commander J.E.B. Stuart.  He later employed his cavalry force effectively in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 and the Appomattox Campaign, in pursuit of Robert E. Lee.  Who is this officer?

• Mark Reynolds

• George Crook

• Philip Sheridan

• Rutherford B. Hayes

Check Your Answer

• 1. The answer is Saber.

• 2. The answer is Mounted Infantry.

• 3. The answer is Dragoons.

• 4. The answer is Irregular forces (partisan rangers or guerrillas).

• 5. The answer is Reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance screening.

• 6. The answer is Benjamin Grierson.

• 7. The answer is 35 miles.

• 8. The answer is Bowie Knife.

• 9. The answer is 40,000 Federal troops.

• 10. The answer is Philip Sheridan.