Civil War Trivia Q&A

Battle of Gettysburg: The Second Day of Battle (Wheatfield & Peach Orchard)

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

1. Lafayette McLaws arranged his division on Warfield Ridge similar to Hood's on his right two lines of two brigades each: left front, facing the Peach Orchard, the brigade of Brig. Gen. William Barksdale; right front, Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw; left rear, Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford; right rear, Brig. Gen. Paul Jones Semmes. At 5 PM, Longstreet ordered McLaw’s to lead with who's brigade in battle?

• Kershaw’s brigade
• Barksdale’s brigade
• Semmes’s brigade

2. Who owned the land around the Wheatfield?

• John Rose
• Peter Showalter
• Sam Morrison

3. What actually was the first fight over the Wheatfield?

• Hood’s Devil’s Den & Round Top attack
• Pickett’s Charge
• Attack on Culp’s Hill

4. The Union’s V Corps reinforces the III Corps. Who commands the V Corps?

• Maj. Gen. George Sykes
• Brig. Gen. James Barnes
• Maj. Gen. Wayne Morris

5. Another division marches into combat on the Wheatfield, the 2nd Division of the V Corps, under Brig. Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres. What was the division known as?

• Freedom Fighters
• New York Kings
• The Regular Division

6. The final assault on the Wheatfield was about what time?

• 7:30 AM
• 12:30 PM
• 7:30 PM

7. While the right wing of Kershaw's brigade attacked into the Wheatfield, its left wing wheeled left to attack the Pennsylvania troops on the right flank of Birney's line, where 30 guns from the III Corps and the Artillery Reserve attempted to hold the sector. Who was the Pennsylvania troops commanded by?

• Brig. Gen. Charles K. Graham
• Brig. Gen. James Barnes
• Maj. Gen. Wayne Morris

8. As Barksdale's men pushed toward III Corps headquarters near the Trostle barn, the general and his staff began to move to the rear, when a cannonball caught him in the right leg. He was carried off in a stretcher, sitting up and puffing on his cigar, attempting to encourage his men. That evening his leg was amputated, and he returned to Washington, D.C. Gen. Birney assumed command of the III Corps, which was soon rendered ineffective as a fighting force. Who was the Corps commander?

• Brig. Gen. William Hays
• Maj. Gen. John Newton
• Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles

9. The six Napoleons of Capt. John Bigelow's 9th Massachusetts battery used a technique rarely used in which the cannon was dragged backwards as it fired rapidly, the movement aided by the gun's recoil. What was the technique known as?

• “retire with shot”
• “retired by prolonge”
• “Sheridan Technique”

10. Union Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys's division had only about 1,000 men to cover the 500 yards from the Peach Orchard northward along the Emmitsburg Road to the lane leading to the Abraham Trostle farm. His fate was sealed when the Confederate en echelon attack continued and his front and right flank began to be assaulted by the Confederate Third Corps division, on Cemetery Ridge. Who command this division?

• Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson
• Brig. Gen. William J. Short
• Maj. Gen. Mark Reynolds

Check Your Answers

1. Kershaw’s brigade is correct.
2. John Rose is correct.
3. Hood’s Devil’s Den & Round Top attack is correct.
4. Maj. Gen. George Sykes is correct.
5. The Regular Division is correct.
6. 7:30 PM is correct.
7. Brig. Gen. Charles K. Graham is correct.
8. Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles is correct.
9. “retired by prolonge” is correct.
10. Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson is correct.