Civil War Trivia and Fact Book: Unusual and Often Overlooked Facts about America's Civil War Paperback - 1992

From the publisher

In Civil War Trivia and Fact Book more than 2,000 unusual, interesting, and little-known facts are assembled in a volume that will tantalize the mind at every page.

What Confederate general could be identified at a distance by the ostrich plume in his hat? How many Southerners migrated to the North during the war? How many Northerners moved to the South? These and hundreds of other questions are answered.

Included are 33 fascinating sidebar articles, lists of little-known facts, and 48 unusual photographs and stories. A thorough index makes the Civil War Trivia and Fact Book a valuable resource for students and researchers.

As a member of the elite Mitchell Thunderbolts, Pvt. John Gilleland had an idea he was sure would bring a quick end to the war?a double-barreled cannon. Fired simultaneously, its barrels would eject a pair of balls connected with a chain in order to "mow down Yankees as a scythe cuts wheat." Legend has it that in its sole test firing, balls whizzed around in erratic fashion and killed three Thunderbolts.

Transportation magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt prized each of his ships. But as a patriotic gesture, he agreed to sell a 1,700-ton vessel that bore his name to the Federal government?at his own price. He asked for, and received, exactly one dollar.