Maritime History, Unit 4, Mingonet Questions
1 What political development caused the Southern states to secede from the Union?
2 What were the four main Southern exports during the 1800's?
3 What were the economies of the North and the South based on at the start of the Civil
War?
4 At the start of the war, why did many in the South think they would be able to establish the
Confederacy as an independent nation?
5 Which was the first of the southern states to declare itself independent fro the Union?
6 Which two countries were considering recognizing the South?
7 In what year did the Civil War begin?
8 Who was the leader of the main Confederate Army for most of the war?
9 Who was the President of the Confederate States of America?
10 Why did Southern President Jefferson Davis declare an embargo on cotton at the start of
the war?
11 What did Jefferson Davis believe would happen if the North tried to blockade Southern
ports?
12 Who was President Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy?
13 What was the primary purpose of the Union blockade of the South?
14 Where was the first significant military action between Northern and Southern forces at the
start of the Civil War?
15 Which Union hero was responsible for the capture of New Orleans?
16 Why was the capture of New Orleans so important to the North?
17 At the start of the Civil War, how many ships did the U.S. navy have in home waters to
support a blockade of Southern ports?
18 Which river was valuable to both sides because it cut through the heartland of the South?
19 What was the Trent affair?
20 What was the name of the U.S. Sloop which stopped the British steamship, the Trent, and
took Confederate diplomats James Mason and John Slidell prisoner?
21 How was the Trent affair settled?
22 What was the famous achievement of the gunboat Carondelet?
23 What was the name give to old gunboats, covered with iron plating.