Browse all Entries in the Antebellum Time Period.
William Marshall Anderson
June 24, 1807–January 7, 1881 Born on June 24, 1807 near Louisville, Kentucky, William Marshall Anderson spent his youth in Kentucky. Anderson's father, Colonel Richard Clough Anderson, was a veteran of the American Revolution who served as aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Lafayette. Born on June 24, 1807 near Louisville, Kentucky, William Marshall Anderson spent…
William Nelson
September 27, 1824 – September 29, 1862 Murdered by fellow Union General Jefferson C. Davis in 1862, William "Bull" Nelson simultaneously served as a major general in the U.S. Volunteer Army and as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. William Nelson was born in Maysville, Kentucky, on September 27, 1824.…
William Selby Harney
August 22, 1800 – May 9, 1889 Co-author of the Price-Harney Agreement, Brigadier-General William S. Harney was a forty-five-year veteran of the United States Army, who participated in the Seminole Wars, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican-American War, the Mormon Expedition, and the American Civil War. William Selby Harney was born on August 27, 1800,…
William Sooy Smith
July 22, 1830 – March 4, 1916 A native of Tarlton, Ohio, Brigadier General William Sooy Smith served in many of the Western Theater's important campaigns during the Civil War. William Sooy Smith was born in Tarlton, Ohio, on July 22, 1830. He was the fifth of six children born to Sooy Smith and Ann…
William Stedman
November 26, 1815 – July 6, 1869 William Stedman was a commander of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Regiment who also served in the Ohio House of representatives and the Ohio Senate. William Stedman was born in Granville, Ohio, on November 26, 1815. He was the son of William Stedman and Samantha Rose, both of…
William Thomas Magruder
1820s – July 3, 1863 Captain William Thomas Magruder was one of four graduates of the United States Military Academy to resign his commission in the U.S. Army and join the Confederate Army after fighting for the Union during the American Civil War. William Thomas Magruder was born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland during the 1820s.…
William Wing Loring
December 4, 1818 – December 30, 1886 William W. Loring was a career soldier who served as an officer with the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War, as a major general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and for ten years as an officer in the Egyptian Army. Early Life and Education William…
Wilmot Proviso
1846 Introduced by Congressman David Wilmot, but never enacted, the Wilmot Proviso would have banned the spread of slavery into territories Mexico ceded to the U. S. after the Mexican-American War. The U.S. Constitution and Slavery When delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in 1787, one of the more daunting tasks that they…
Wilson Shannon
February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877 Fourteenth and sixteenth Governor of Ohio, Wilson Shannon also served as the second Governor of the Kansas Territory from August 10, 1855, to August 18, 1856, during the period known as Bleeding Kansas. Birth and Early Life Wilson Shannon was born on February 24, 1802, on his family's…
Winfield Scott
June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866 Commander of all Federal forces at the beginning of the American Civil War, Lieutenant General Winfield Scott served as an officer in the United States Army for over fifty-three years. Winfield Scott was born at Laurel Branch, his family's planation, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on June 13, 1786.…