Browse all content in the Civil War Western Theater Region.
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873 A career United States Army officer, Major General Edward Canby commanded the victorious Union troops during the Battle of Fort Blakely, which is often cited as the last major infantry engagement east of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was born in…
Edwin Stanton McCook
March 26, 1837 – September 11, 1873 Edwin Stanton McCook was a member of the “Fighting McCooks,” fifteen family members who served the Union during the American Civil War. Edwin Stanton McCook was born at Carrollton, Ohio, on March 26, 1837. He was the seventh son of Daniel McCook and Martha Latimer (McCook). McCook graduated…
Edwin Vose Sumner
January 30, 1797 – March 21, 1863 A prominent Union general officer, Edwin V. Sumner was the first new general to be appointed in the United States Army after the beginning of the American Civil War. Edwin Vose Sumner was born on January 30, 1797 at Boston, Massachusetts. He was one of seven children born…
Ely Samuel Parker
1828 – August 31, 1895 Ely Samuel Parker was General Ulysses S. Grant’s personal secretary for the last years of the American Civil War. He also served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs during Grant’s presidency. Just over thirty years before polarization between North and South reached its climax with the outbreak of the American Civil…
Felix Kirk Zollicoffer
May 19, 1812 – January 19, 1862 Tennessee-native Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was a newspaperman, congressman, and Confederate general who was killed at the Battle of Mill Springs during the American Civil War. Born on May 19, 1812, Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was the son of John Jacob and Martha (Kirk) Zollicoffer. He was born on his…
Fighting McCooks
During the American Civil War many family members fought alongside one another, and it is believed that at least fifteen members of the McCook family of Ohio fought in the war. Daniel McCook, eight of his sons, his brother John McCook, and his five sons fought for the Union. During the American Civil War many…
Francis Jay Herron
February 17, 1837 – January 8, 1902 Major General Francis J. Herron was a prominent Union officer who served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and commanded the Army of the Frontier in 1863. Francis Jay Herron was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 17, 1837. He was the third child of…
Francis Preston Blair, Jr.
February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875 U.S. Senator and Congressman from Missouri, Frank P. Blair was one of President Abraham Lincoln's more successful political generals, rising to command the 15th and 17th Army Corps during most of the major campaigns in the Western Theater of the Civil War. Francis Preston Blair, Jr. (more commonly…
Franklin-Nashville Campaign
September 18–December 27, 1864 The Franklin-Nashville Campaign, also known as Hood's Campaign and Hood's Tennessee Campaign, was a Confederate offensive conducted in northern Georgia, northern Alabama, and middle Tennessee from September through December 1864. In September 1863, Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee was attempting to recapture Chattanooga, Tennessee from Federal forces by besieging…
Franz Sigel
November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902 During the American Civil War, Franz Sigel, one of President Abraham Lincoln's "political generals," achieved the rank of major general in the volunteer army and served as a corps commander with the Army of the Potomac. Franz Sigel was born in the town of Sinsheim, in the duchy…