Question of The Week- America at War

Each week I will ask a question relating to either the Revolution or the Civil War. You should e-mail me the answer to get extra credit. Try your luck at guessing or researching the answers to this week's question. Answers will be posted after I have posted the answer at school on the following Monday. No answers will be accepted after 6:00 AM on that Monday morning.

Go to this week's answer

Week of August 17 - 24

Who was the man whose impassioned speech against the Writs of Assistance led John Adams to call him a "flame of fire?" He was one of the first to argue that "no one should be taxed without representation." He sadly suffered from periods of insanity and erratic behavior. The unfortunate man died in 1783 when he was struck by lightning.

James Otis, Jr.

Week of August 24 - 31

What disease do historians think that George III suffered from that gave him fits of madness? The name of the disease comes from the Greek word for "purple" because of the discoloration in patients' urine.

Porphyria

Week of August 31 - September 7

Who was the Massachusetts doctor who was among the highest circle of the Patriot cause and was appointed Surgeon-General by the Continental Congress? However, it was discovered that he had been in the pay of General Gage and had given the British crucial information before Lexington and Concord.

Benjamin Church

Week of September 7 - 14

The great-great grandson of the man who rode with Paul Revere became vice president. He was arguably one of the most able men to serve as vice president, even winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Name

1) this vice president William Dawes

2) his famous ancestor who rode with Paul Revere Charles Dawes

3) the president whom he served as vice president. Calvin Coolidge

Week of September 14 - 21

Name this heavyweight father of a future president who, when signing the Declaration of Independence joked to the petit Elbridge Gerry about their future hangings if the British should capture them, "I shall have all the advantage over you. It will be all over in a minute for me, but you will be kicking in the air half an hour after I am gone."

Benjamin Harrison

Week of September 21 - 28

Which American general who served during the Battle of Bunker Hill was descended from one of the key families involved in the Salem Witch Trials?

Israel Putnam

Week of September 28 - October 5

Who was the First Lord of the Admiralty who administered the British Navy during the Revolutionary War from 1771 -1782? His administration was marked by corruption and incompetence. You might associate him with something else totally unrelated.

John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich

Week of October 5 - 12

Name the man who served as the Secretary of State for the American Department during the War. As such he oversaw the planning for the British campaigns in America. He was a controversial choice for the job since he'd been found guilty in a court martial during the Seven Years War and the verdict had been that he was "unfit to serve his Majesty in any military capacity whatsoever."

George Germain, Viscount Sackville

Week of October 12 - 19

What did the Revolutionary War British general Thomas Gage and American generals George Washington, Horatio Gates, Daniel Morgan, and Charles Lee as well as Daniel Boone all have in common as a result of the French and Indian War?

They were all on the disastrous Braddock expedition to try to take Fort Duquesne.

Week of October 19 - 26

Who was the French playwright, politician, inventor, and adventurer, who acted as an agent to set up a dummy company to funnel money and military supplies to the Americans? He is better known to history as the creator of a trilogy of plays about a Spanish barber that became famous operas by Rossini and Mozart.

Pierre Beaumarchais, author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro

Week of October 26 - November 2

Identify the French engineer who volunteered in the American Revolution and served under the Marquis de Lafayette and was wounded at the siege of Savannah. He served at Valley Forge. He is best known for having designed the capital city that became Washington, D.C., although he was later fired from that job as he came into conflict with the commissioners overseeing the construction of the capital.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant

Week of November 2 - 9

Who was the woman who was a cross-dressing soldier in the Continental Army and even received a payment of 34 pounds for her wartime service? Paul Revere even got her a pension and a land grant for her service.

Deborah Sampson

Week of November 9 - 16

Name this famous artist who served in the American army as an aide to both George Washington and Horatio Gates. He was imprisoned by the British in retaliation for the execution of John André. Four of his large historical paintings of the Revolution hang in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

John Trumbull

Week of November 16 - 23

One ante-bellum president was nicknamed "Handsome" and was called by Harry Truman, "the best looking president the White House ever had." Name this president who was such good friends of Nathaniel Hawthorne that Hawthorne wrote the campaign biography for this man's run for the White House. While you're at it, check out his picture and see if you agree with Truman.

Franklin Pierce

Week of November 23 - 30

Which future Confederate general was present at the wedding of his cousin, Julia Dent to Ulysses Grant? The two resumed their friendship after the Civil War.

James Longstreet

Week of November 30 - December 7

When he served as Secretary of War in Franklin Pierce's cabinet, what animal did Jefferson Davis propose using for service on the western plains?

 

You should e-mail me the answer to get extra credit. Try your luck at guessing or researching the answers to this week's question. Answers will be posted after I have posted the answer at school on the following Monday. No answers will be accepted after 6:00 AM on that Monday morning.