Civil War People: Drawn from Across the Nation
The Civil War was the first conflict that saw the large scale mobilization of the American people. While over 2.2 million served the Union cause, between 1.2 and 1.4 million enlisted in Confederate service. These men were led by officers from a variety of backgrounds ranging from professionally-trained West Pointers to businessmen and political appointees. While many professional officers did leave the US Army to serve the South, the majority remained loyal to the Union. As the war began, the Confederacy benefited from several gifted leaders, while the North endured a string of poor commanders. In time, these men were replaced by skilled men who would lead the Union to victory.
Civil War Leaders: Union
Photo Gallery: Union Generals
Major General John Buford - Cavalry officer, Army of the Potomac (1862-1863)
Major General Ambrose Burnside - Commander, Army of the Potomac (1862-1863)
Major General Joshua L. Chamberlain - Professor-turned-soldier, Commander, 20th Maine Infantry at Gettysburg
Major General Abner Doubleday - Possible inventor of baseball
Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont - Commander, South Atlantic Blockading Squadron (1861-1863)
Admiral David G. Farragut - Commander, West Gulf Blockading Squadron
Major General John C. Frémont, Commander, Department of the West (1861), Mountain Department (1862)
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant - General-in-Chief, Union Army
Major General Benjamin Grierson - Union Cavalry commander
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock - Commander, II Corps, Army of the Potomac (1863-1864)
Major General Joseph Hooker, Commander, Army of the Potomac (1863)
Major General Philip Kearny, Jr. - Division Commander, Army of the Potomac (1862)
Major General George B. McClellan - Commander, Army of the Potomac (1861-1862)
Major General James B. McPherson - Commander, XVII Corps (1862-1864), Commander, Army of the Tennessee (1864), killed at the Battle of Atlanta
Major General George G. Meade - Commander, Army of the Potomac (1863-1865)
Major General Wesley Merritt - Noted cavalry general who later served in the Spanish-American War
Brigadier Geneal Nelson A. Miles - Brigade/Division commander, Army of the Potomac, later captured Geronimo
Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter - Commander, Mississippi River Squadron, North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
Major General William S. Rosecrans - Commander, Army of the Cumberland (1862-1863)
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw - Commander, 54th Massachusetts Infantry (first African-American regiment)
General Philip H. Sheridan - Commander, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac (1864-1865) & Commander, Army of the Shenandoah (1864)
General William T. Sherman - Commander, Military Division of the Mississippi (1864-1865)
Major General Daniel Sickles - Commander, III Corps (1863) at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg
Major General George H. Thomas - "The Rock of Chickamauga" & Commander, Army of the Cumberland (1864-1865)
Civil War Leaders: Confederate
Photo Gallery: Confederate Generals
General P.G.T. Beauregard - Commander, Charleston (1861, 1862-1864), Commander, Army of Mississippi (1862), Commander, Department of the West (1864-1865)
General Braxton Bragg - Commander, Army of Tennessee (1862-1863)
Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early - Commander, II Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (1864-1865)
Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest - Noted Confederate cavalry commander
Major General John B. Gordon - Commander, Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (1864-1865)
Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill - Commander, Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
General John Bell Hood - Commander, Army of Tennessee (1864-1865)
Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson - Commander, Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
General Albert Sidney Johnston - Commander, Western Department (1861-1862)
General Joseph E. Johnston - Commander, Army of Northern Virginia (1861-1862), Commander, Department of the West (1863), Commander, Army of Tennessee (1863-1864)
General Robert E. Lee - Commander, Army of Northern Virginia (1862-1865)
Lieutenant General James Longstreet - Commander, First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan - noted Confederate raider (1861-1864)
Colonel John Singleton Mosby - noted Confederate raider (1861-1865)
Major General George Pickett - Division Commander, Army of Northern Virginia
Major General J.E.B. Stuart - Commander, Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Major General Joseph Wheeler - Commander, Cavalry Corp, Army of Tennessee
Civil War 101: An Overview to the War Between the States
