10 Most Famous Americans of the Civil War
- Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865)
- Robert E. Lee (1807–1870)
- Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885)
- Harriet Tubman (1822–1913)
- William T. Sherman (1820–1891)
- Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895)
- Jefferson Davis (1808 – 1889)
- Andrew Johnson (1808 – 1875)
Full Answer
Who were the most important people in the Civil War?
Civil War Figures. During the Civil War — the bloodiest war ever waged by the United States — a number of important people rose to prominence, both on and off the battlefield. Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Clara Barton, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson and William Tecumseh Sherman played notable roles before, ...
Who were some of the presidents who fought in the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Clara Barton, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson and William Tecumseh Sherman played notable roles before, during and after the conflict.
Who are the Black Heroes of the Civil War?
6 Black Heroes of the Civil War Harriet Tubman: Spy and Military Leader. Harriet Tubman, best known for her courage and acumen as a “conductor” on the... Abraham Augusta: Pioneering War Doctor. With discrimination blocking his dreams of becoming a doctor in the United... Abraham Galloway: Soldier, ...
Who was the longest serving general in United States history?
Winfield Scott was a the longest serving active duty general in United States history. His career was 53 years and at the start of the Civil War was the general in charge of the Union army. At the very start of the war he had realized that his age and health problems could cause issues and so offered his command to Robert E Lee who refused it.
Who was famous during the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Clara Barton, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson and William Tecumseh Sherman played notable roles before, during and after the conflict.
Who was the biggest hero in the Civil War?
Ulysses S Grant was the supreme Union general during the civil war and then later 18th President of the United States. Grant was instrumental in the battlefield defeat of the Confederacy and then as President worked to implement Reconstruction.
Who was the most impactful person in the Civil War?
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
Who were 4 important people in the Civil War?
Important People of the Civil WarAbraham Lincoln. ... Jefferson Davis. ... Robert E. Lee. ... Ulysses S. ... Frederick Douglass. ... Stonewall Jackson. ... Clara Barton. ... William Tecumseh Sherman.More items...•
Who turned giant in Civil War?
Ant-Man Becomes Giant-Man - Airport Battle Scene - Captain America: Civil War - Movie CLIP HD - YouTube.
Who was the biggest killer in the Civil War?
diseaseBurns, MD of The Burns Archive. Before war in the twentieth century, disease was the number one killer of combatants. Of the 620,000 recorded military deaths in the Civil War about two-thirds died from disease. However, recent studies show the number of deaths was probably closer to 750,000.
Who was the better Civil War general?
Lee is considered the better commander. He scored huge victories up until Gettysburg in 1863, while fighting against bigger and better supplied troops.
Who started the Civil War?
At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charleston Harbor. Less than 34 hours later, Union forces surrendered. Traditionally, this event has been used to mark the beginning of the Civil War.
Who were the main civil war leaders?
Over the course of the war, the Commanding General of the United States Army was, in order of service, Winfield Scott, George B. McClellan, Henry Halleck, and finally, Ulysses S. Grant.
Which side lost more in the Civil War?
A specific figure of 618,222 is often cited, with 360,222 Union deaths and 258,000 Confederate deaths.
Who was the most famous black soldier in the Civil War?
Black Civil War Soldiers By the time the Civil War began in 1861, Frederick Douglass was one of the most famous Black men in the United States—a prominent voice for freedom, human rights and social reform.
Who was the highest ranking black soldier in Civil War?
Alexander Thomas AugustaAlexander Thomas Augusta was the highest-ranking black officer in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was also the first African American head of a hospital (Freedmen's Hospital) and the first black professor of medicine (Howard University in Washington, D.C.).
Who led the Union Army in the Civil War?
General Grant courageously led the Union Army to victory over the Confederate Army in the four-year Civil War. Grant was able to bring his experiences from the two-year Mexican-American War (1846-1848) to bear in the Civil War, winning many crucial battles in the Western Theater.
Who was the commander of the Confederate Army?
Robert E. Lee was a distinguished general of our country best known for being the Commander of the Virginian Confederate Army from 1862 until its surrender to Union forces in 1865. Prior to serving as the commander of the confederate States Army, Robert E. Lee was a distinguished military officer and engineer of the United States Army for more than three decades. He served gallantly in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), along with many astute military minds like Ulysses S. Grant. His unshakable loyalty to his state of Virginia was the reason why he chose to serve in the Confederate Army after the Virginia seceded from the Union.
Why did Frederick Douglass join the Union Army?
Throughout the Civil War, Douglass was supportive of the government in Washington, D.C. in their fight against the Confederate State. He was a brilliant orator and writer as well, playing a vital role in inspiring black Americans to join the Union Army. So good were his writing and oratory prowess that many people were shocked to hear that he was once a slave. Frederick Douglass’s life achievements and contributions during the Civil War have been massive inspiration to the African American communities for many years.
Why was Harriet Tubman called Moses?
Nicknamed “Moses” for her heroic efforts in leading slaves to freedom, Harriet Tubman was as active during the American Civil War as she was during her abolitionist and civil rights career. Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman endured unimaginable conditions for 27 years under numerous owners. However, she later found the courage and made her way to freedom. She then committed herself to helping runaway slaves make their way out of the shackles of slavery to safe places in the North and in Canada.
What was Frederick Douglass' goal?
He too would gather enough courage and escape the clutches of slavery. From then onward, Frederick Douglass made it his life goal to bring an end to slavery in America.
What did Harriet Tubman do during the Civil War?
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Harriet Tubman devoted herself to the cause of the Union forces, first serving as a cook, then a nurse, and later an agent. In that latter role of hers, she helped recruit African-Americans to the Union cause. In one of her heroic displays, she helped rescue hundreds of enslaved people during the Raid at Combahee Ferry.
What was Stonewall Jackson's military career?
Military Academy at West Point. He also fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). For about a decade prior to the start of Civil War, Stonewall Jackson was professor Natural and Experimental Philosophy at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.
Who was the President of the United States during the Civil War?
Ulysses S Grant. April 27 1822 - July 23 1885. Ulysses S Grant was the supreme Union general during the civil war and then later 18th President of the United States. Grant was instrumental in the battlefield defeat of the Confederacy and then as President worked to implement Reconstruction.
Who was the Union General who led the Civil War?
William Tecumseh Sherman. WIlliam Tecumseh Sherman was a Union General serving under the command of Ulysses Grant during the Civil War. He is most known for his campaign through Georgia and the Carolina's in 1864 where he followed a scorched earth policy including the capture and burning of Atlanta.
What did John Brown believe?
John Brown was a prominent abolitionist. Brown believed that slavery could only be overthrown violently. He became famous during the Bloody Kansas period in 1856 when he and his supporters murdered pro-slavery southerners and in 1859 attacked the Federal armory at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. Brown hoped that by doing so he would start a slave insurrection. The Raid at Harpers Ferry ended in failure; seven people were killed and at least ten wounded. He was tried and executed by hanging. His death was considered inspirational in the North, particularly among abolitionists who viewed him as a martyr.
What was Andrew Jackson's presidency?
In 1831 during his presidency, there was a Nullification Crisis between the Federal government and the state of South Carolina over the matter of tariffs. South Carolina threatened succession and Jackson threatened armed intervention to prevent it; Jackson denied that any state had a right to leave the Union or that the states had the right to nullify Federal laws.
Who was the chief general of the Union army in the beginning of the Civil War?
George B. McClellan. December 3 1826 - October 29 1885. George McClellan was the chief general of the Union army in the beginning of the Civil war, taking over after Winfield Scott. He was an efficient planner and organizer but was criticised for being overly cautious, allowing Confederate armies to escape and prolonging the war.
Who ordered the Confederate troops to come to attention and carry arms?
Later when the war ended Chamberlain preside over the parade of the Confederate infantry as part of their formal surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 12. Chamberlain ordered his men to come to attention and "carry arms" as a show of respect while the Confederates surrendered.
Who was the Union general who led the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg?
WInfield Scott Hancock (no relation to General Winfield Scott; he was only named in honor of him) was a Union general known for his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war he served in the South as a part of Reconstruction and in the West against the Indians.
Who was the last Civil War veteran?
Albert Woolson was a former drummer boy and the last living Civil War veteran when he died in 1956 at the age of 109. Woolson joined the army as a drummer boy in 1864 at age 17. His regiment never saw combat and he was honorably discharged in September of 1865.
Who was the only Revere grandson to survive the war?
Joseph was the only Revere grandson to survive the war but he was court martialed and allowed to resign instead of being dismissed.
Where was Mark Twain working when the war broke out?
Twain was working as a riverboat pilot in Mississippi when the war broke out. Mark Twain in 1863. Soon after, he decided to join the Confederate militia but his stint in the military only lasted two weeks before he quit and went out west.
Where were Paul and Edward captured?
Both Paul and Edward were captured at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff and held as POWs in Richmond before being exchanged for Confederate prisoners.
Who were Paul Revere's grandsons?
Three of Paul Revere’s grandsons, Paul Joseph Revere, Joseph Warren Revere and Edward Hutchinson Revere, served as soldiers for the Union army in the Civil War. Paul Joseph Revere and Edward Hutchinson Revere served in a Massachusetts regiment while Joseph Warren Revere served in a New Jersey regiment.
Who was Alfred Packer?
Alfred Packer was a former Civil War soldier who later became a prospector and wilderness guide and was accused of cannibalism in 1874. Packer was working as a shoe maker when the Civil War broke out.
Did the Union Army recruit Eng?
Since Eng was selected but not Chang, and the twins could not be physically separated, there wasn’t much the Union army could do about it so they decided against recruiting Eng.
Who was the highest ranking black officer in the Union Army during the Civil War?
Alexander Augusta: Pioneering War Doctor. With discrimination blocking his dreams of becoming a doctor in the United States, Alexander Augusta moved to Canada to earn his medical degree before returning to serve as the Union Army’s highest-ranking Black officer during the Civil War.
What was the first woman to lead a military expedition during the Civil War?
In 1863, she became the first and only woman to lead a military expedition during the Civil War, to resounding success. Tubman led 150 soldiers on three federal gunboats up South Carolina’s Combahee River for a surprise attack on the plantations of prominent secessionists, using intelligence she gathered from enslaved people to bypass hidden confederate torpedoes. Along the route, they stopped at several spots to rescue more than 700 enslaved people. Between enabling such a massive escape and burning and pillaging plantations, Tubman ’s expedition dealt a major military and psychological blow to the confederacy. About 100 of the Black men rescued that day joined the Union Army.
How many men and women were on the planter?
When his attempts to buy his wife and family out of slavery failed, he plotted an escape. As the Civil War broke out, he became a deckhand on the Confederate supply ship the Planter and learned how to navigate between ports. Before dawn on May 13, 1862, as white officers and the crew slept, he slipped the Planter out of Charleston Harbor with eight men, five women and three children on board, chugging quietly from slavery toward freedom.
Why did Galloway pose as a slave?
Galloway posed as a slave to gather intelligence from confederate troops, set up a spy network in parts of the South and encouraged thousands of enslaved men who had sought protection behind Union lines to take up arms to gain their freedom. He helped raise three regiments of United States Colored Troops.
What was Harriet Tubman known for?
Harriet Tubman, best known for her courage and acumen as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, led hundreds of enslaved men, women and children north to freedom through its carefully prescribed routes and network of safe houses. But once the Civil War started in 1861, Tubman used her skills as a spy and expedition leader for the Union Army.
What was Robert Smalls' career?
Robert Smalls' daring escape from slavery into the hands of the Union Navy put him on a path to become the public face—and prominent recruiter—of Black sailors for the Union. He himself would parlay that into a successful political career.
How did the daring escape help Lincoln?
The daring escape helped encourage President Lincoln to authorize free Blacks to serve in the military. Congress awarded $1,500 to Smalls, who went on a speaking tour, recruiting Black men to serve. He also conducted 17 missions on the Planter and the ironclad USS Keokuk in and around Charleston.
