C OMMANDERS O F
T H E
C IV I L WA R B R I E F
B I O G R AP H I E S
O F
S E L E C T E D G E N E R A L S A N D S TAT E S M E N I N T H E
C O N F L I C T
O F
T H E WA R B E T W E E N T H E S T A T E S
GEORGE SCOTT
Š 2 0 1 1 b y S c o tt & N i x , Inc . , N ew Y o r k A ll r i ghts reser v ed . N o p art o f th i s p u bl i cat i o n ma y be re p r o d u ced , st o red i n a retr i e v al s y stem , o r transm i tted , i n an y f o rm o r b y an y means , electr o n i c , mechan i cal , p h o t o c o p y i ng , rec o rd i ng , o r o therw i se , w i th o u t p r i o r wr i tten p erm i ss i o n f r o m the p u bl i sher . f r o nt i s p i ece : B rad y - H and y C o llect i o n ( L i brar y o f C o ngress ) Pre p ared b y S c o tt & N i x , Inc . 1 5 0 W est 2 8 th S treet , S u i te 1 1 0 3 N ew Y o r k , N Y 1 0 0 0 1 www . sc o ttandn i x . c o m A ll p h o t o gra p h y re p r o d u ced c o u rtes y o f the L i brar y o f C o ngress Pr i nts and Ph o t o gra p hs D i v i s i o n W ash i ngt o n , D . C . 2 0 5 4 0 U S A . i sbn ( eP u b ) : 9 7 8 - 1 - 9 3 5 6 2 2 - 3 5 - 2 i sbn ( P D F ) : 9 7 8 - 1 - 9 3 5 6 2 2 - 3 6 - 9 i sbn ( K i ndle ) : 9 7 8 - 1 - 9 3 5 6 2 2 - 3 7 - 6
Contents
Introduction vii General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
1
General Braxton Bragg
3
Admiral Franklin Buchanan
5
Major General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham
7
Major General George Armstrong “Curly” Custer
9
President Jefferson Davis
11
Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Early
13
Admiral David Glasgow Farragut
15
Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest
17
Major General John Charles Frémont
19
Major General James Abram Garfield
21
Major General John Gibbon
23
General-in-Chief Ulysses Simpson Grant
25
Chief-of-Staff Henry Wager Halleck
27
Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
29
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
31
Lieutenant General William Joseph “Old Reliable” Hardee
33
Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill
35
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood
37
Major General Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” Hooker
39
Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson
41
Major General Richard W. Johnson
43
General Joseph Eggleston Johnston
45
General-in-Chief Robert Edward Lee
47
President Abraham Lincoln
49
Major General John Alexander “Black Jack” Logan
51
Lieutenant General James “Old Pete” Longstreet
53
Major General George Brinton “Little Mac” McClellan
55
Major General Irvin McDowell
57
Major General George Gordon Meade
59
Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan
61
Lieutenant General John Clifford Pemberton
63
Major General George Edward Pickett
65
Major General Philip Henry “Little Phil” Sheridan
67
Major General William Tecumseh “Cump” Sherman
69
General Edmund Kirby Smith
71
Vice President Alexander Stephens
73
Major General Carter Littlepage Stevenson
75
Major General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart
77
Major General George Henry “Rock of Chickamauga” Thomas
79
Major General Emory Upton
81
Lieutenant General Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” Wheeler
83
Major General James Harrison Wilson
85
Admiral John Lorimer Worden
87
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introduction
Entering the service on either side at various ranks and from all walks of life, thousands of men commanded as officers over the course of the Civil War. Some rose meteorically to high rank, while others ended their service considerably lower than their initial commission. Hundreds of officers fell during this bloody period in our nation’s past, sacrificing their lives in the service of their cause and country. The select group of commanders included in this small book all served at the highest ranks and have been included for their particular contributions. Interested readers are urged to seek out the excellent books that summarize the lives of famous figures of the Civil War in a much more comprehensive and scholarly way, including Ezra J. Warner’s classic books in two volumes, Generals in Blue and Generals in Gray (Louisiana State University Press) and the superb Civil War High Commands by John Eicher and David Eicher (Stanford University Press).
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C o n f e d e r at e
General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
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Born: May 28, 1818; St Bernard Parish, Louisiana Died: February 20, 1893; New Orleans, Louisiana
Beauregard graduated from West Point in 1838 and served in the Mexican-American War as an engineer officer under Winfield Scott. He taught at the Military Academy, and became its superintendent in January 1861, although resigned the post after only five days when Louisiana seceded from the Union. He entered the Confederate Army as brigadier general and commanded forces that fired upon Fort Sumter to begin the war. He led at First Manassas (First Bull Run) in 1861 and was promoted to full general, one of only eight of the Confederate Army. He served as second to A. S. Johnston at Shiloh, and replaced him when Johnston was killed in action on April 6, 1862. He commanded a defense of South Carolina and Georgia, and after assisting Lee in the defense of Richmond, went on to join J. E. Johnston’s command in the closing period of the war. Johnston and Beauregard surrendered to Sherman in North Carolina in 1865.
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