Browse all Entries, Images, Videos, and Audio Files in the Civil War People category.
Mortimer Dormer Leggett
Born on April 19, 1821 (commonly mistakenly reported as 1831), in Ithaca, New York, Leggett's parents were members of the Society of Friends. In 1837, at sixteen years of age, Leggett moved with his parents to Geauga County, Ohio, where he helped his family establish a farm. Born on April 19, 1821 (commonly mistakenly reported…
Nathan Bedford Forrest
July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877 Known as "the Wizard of the Saddle," Nathan Bedford Forrest was a prominent Confederate cavalry officer whose reputation was stained by accusations regarding his role in the "Fort Pillow Massacre" on April 12, 1864. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821 in rural Chapel Hill, Tennessee.…
Nathaniel Lyon
July 14, 1818 – August 9, 1861 Infamous for his quick temper, Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon was killed during the Battle of Wilson's Creek, on August 9, 1861, making him the first Union general to die in combat during the American Civil War. Nathaniel Lyon was born on July 14, 1818, in Ashford, Connecticut. He…
Nathaniel Prentice Banks
January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894 Nathaniel Prentice Banks was a ten-time member of the United States House of Representatives and, during the American Civil War, one of President Abraham Lincoln's political generals. Nathaniel Prentice Banks was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on January 30, 1816. He was the first of nine children of Nathaniel…
Newton Jasper Kidwell
1848-1920 Captured for the final time in 1919, fifty-four years after the American Civil War ended, Ohioan Newton Jasper Kidwell was possibly the last Confederate soldier taken prisoner by Union soldiers. Born on July 4, 1848, in Fauquier County, Virginia, Kidwell came from a working-class background. His parents were yeomen farmers, who resided in Upperville,…
Obediah Craig Maxwell
Maxwell was born on February 7, 1837 in Franklin, Ohio. Little is known about his youth, but on April 17, 1861, at twenty-four years of age, he enlisted in Company F of the Second Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. By the American Civil War's conclusion, Ohioan Obediah Craig Maxwell had attained the rank of brevet brigadier-general.…
Oliver Otis Howard
November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909 Major General Oliver O. Howard, a Medal of Honor recipient, commanded Union troops in both the Eastern and Western Theaters of the American Civil War and served as the only commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction. Oliver Otis Howard was born on November 30, 1830, at Leeds,…
Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel
July 28, 1809 – October 30, 1862 Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel was a world-renowned astronomer and a Union major general during the American Civil War who served briefly as commander of the Department of the Ohio. Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel was born near Morganfield, in Union County, Kentucky on July 28, 1809. He was the youngest child…
Patrick Ronayne Cleburne
March 16 or March 17, 1828 – November 30, 1864 Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne was one of the Confederacy's leading general officers in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne was born in Ovens, County Cork, Ireland on March 16 or March 17, 1828. He was the third child and…
Philip Henry Sheridan
March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888 Philip Henry Sheridan was a prominent Union general during the American Civil War and a career army officer, who rose to the position of general-in-chief of the United States Army before his death in 1888. Despite his successful career, Sheridan remains a controversial figure due to his attacks…