Military figures, of course, dominate any list of people caught up in the experience of war. A few entered the American Civil War carrying memories of earlier battles in Mexico, Canada and along the American frontier, but most had no military experience at all. No matter; success in war would not depend on pedigree.
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With no intention of a military career despite graduating from West Point, Ulysses S. Grant proved to be the fighting general Abraham Lincoln had found elusive in the war's early years and rose to the rank of General of the Army, one of his generation's greatest soldiers. Read more
Vicksburg National Military Park
Benjamin Grierson was a civilian who advanced through the ranks to become a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War. He remained in the Army after the war and helped organize the famed "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 10th U.S. Cavalry. Read more
A loyal defender of the Union, Henry Halleck served first as a senior commander in the Western Theater before becoming general-in-chief of Union armies July 1862. Read more
A skilled administrator and physician, William A. Hammond implemented numerous reforms as U.S. Army Surgeon General during the Civil War and was a pioneer in field of nervous and mental diseases in private practice after the war ended Read more
Despite no military experience at the outbreak of the Civil War, Wade Hampton rose to become a lieutenant general in command of Robert E. Lee's cavalry, and after the war he was a symbol of South Carolina politics. Read more