The Confederacy
General Robert E. Lee Robert E. Lee was born in 1807 in Virginia. He was made famous for his generalship and command of the Confederate Army in the Civil War. After completing secondary school, Lee attended West Point Military Academy in 1825. He graduated second in his class in 1829. During the start of his military career, Lee worked on several missions. He was finally promoted to the leadership role of captain in the beginning of the Mexican War in 1846. Lee controlled the staff of General Winfield Scott during the Mexican War.
After the end of the war, Lee left for Virginia, spending the years before the Civil War with his family. In 1861, Lee was called to command the Confederate troops after Virginia seceded officially from the Union. For the entirety of the Civil War, Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia. After the surrender of the Confederacy, Lee spent months recuperating from the physical and mental strain of the war. Left with barely no income from either him or his wife’s plantation, Lee took the position of president at Washington College in Virginia. He remained an influence in education and to the South until his death in 1870. |
General George Pickett George Pickett was born in 1825 in Richmond, Virginia. Known as a Confederate general in the Civil War, he famously led “Pickett’s Charge” in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He graduated last of his class from West Point Military Academy in 1846 and immediately went into service in the Mexican - American War. He entered the Confederate army in 1861 and was promoted to brigadier general in the beginning of 1862. He was promoted to major general by Robert E. Lee, and assisted him in the Battle of Fredericksburg.
His most famous moment of the war is known as “Pickett’s Charge.” In the Battle of Gettysburg, Pickett led three brigades in an attack against the center of the Union army. The ending resulted in a disastrous blood bath, with Pickett losing 54% of his soldiers. Although Pickett's reputation was disgraced by this event, he continued to serve with Lee up until 1864. After the war, Pickett worked in an insurance business until his death in 1875. |
The Union
General George McClellan George McClellan was born in 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for his generalship of Union troops in the Civil War as well as his run for presidency against President Lincoln. After completing two year at the University of Pennsylvania, McClellan joined the U.S. Military Academy at only the age of 15.
After graduating second in his class from West Point in 1846, he immediately went on to serve in the Mexican War. After serving as a soldier in Winfield Scott’s army, McClellan went back to West Point to teach engineering until 1851. From then on, he worked on surveying land for installing railroads and military locations in the West. In 1857, McClellan resigned his commission to become the head engineer at Illinois Central Railroad. However, McClellan was a strong Unionist and headed back into commission a month after the beginning of the Civil War. He was placed in command of the Department of Ohio. His original success had him nicknamed the “Young Napoleon of the West.” However, after the disastrous attack at First Bull Run, Lincoln removed the current general McDowell and replaced him with McClellan. He would control the Army of the Potomac until 1862 after his removal by President Lincoln for failing to attack Lee’s army on the offensive. In 1864, McClellan ran for the presidency as the representative of the Democratic Party. His campaign was not popular with the public and ultimately led him to lose the election. After this, he served as an engineer for the New York Department of Docks and became president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. He served one term as governor of New Jersey and eventually died in 1885 |
General Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Burnside was born in 1824 in Indiana. He is known as a Union General in the American Civil War. Growing up, Burnside received very little education before heading into the labor force as a tailor’s apprentice in 1840. Due to his father’s term in the state legislature, he was able to earn a spot in the West Point Military Academy in 1843. He graduated in 1847, heading into the Mexican War too late. Not receiving any action or battle, he was transferred to Las Vegas to see over the Santa Fe Trail in 1849. He resigned his commission in 1853 and worked as a firearms manufacturer in Rhode Island.
After the beginning of the Civil War, Burnside was appointed colonel of the Rhode Island militia regiment. He was later promoted to brigadier general and then major general by President Lincoln in 1862, to whom he had a personal friendship with. He continued to act as general of the Union until the end of the war in 1865. After the war he served as governor of Rhode Island and a U.S. senator until his death in 1881. |
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky. The 16th President to the United States, Lincoln led the nation through a Civil War and issued an order to emancipate all slaves within the nation. Growing up with a poor farm family and illiterate parents, Lincoln went through many jobs before his role in politics. He worked as a rail-splitter in Illinois, a flatboatmen, a postmaster, and other small time positions.
While his real dream was legislation, Lincoln continued to work on his skills and eventually began his law career in 1836. Over the next 20 years, Lincoln’s law career grew exponentially, making him one of the most successful lawyers in Illinois. Lincoln began his career in politics during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. A member of the Whig party, Lincoln was appointed to serve in Congress. After a brief absence from the political spectrum, Lincoln later reemerged as a member of the Republican party that had overtaken the Whig party. In 1860, Lincoln ran for presidency and won. Shortly after Lincoln’s inauguration, several Southern states began to secede from the nation. They formed their own government and coalition, naming themselves the Confederate States of America. Trying to ease the tension, Lincoln waited before declaring war against the Confederacy. After the firing of Fort Sumter, Lincoln was left with only the choice but to declare war. Lincoln would be Commander in Chief for the duration of the war, making final battle decisions and strategic war movements. One of these strategic movements was the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln made this proclamation as a war movement to weaken the Confederacy. He would continue to make decisions like these all the way up to his assassination in 1864. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in a movie theater in 1864, leading to his ultimate death. |
The Union
Continued
George Meade George Meade was born in 1815 in Spain. He is known for his generalship in the Union army and commanding the 3rd Military District in the South during the Reconstruction Era. Meade graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1835. He was commissioned into the military but resigned after a year’s worth of service. He rejoined the military in 1842 and was assigned brigadier general of the Pennsylvania Reserves in 1861.
He is famously known for his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg and of the Army of the Potomac for the remainder of the war. He was promoted to major general in 1864 and oversaw several military departments and districts during Reconstruction. He eventually died in 1872. |
John Buford John Buford was born in 1826 in Kentucky. He is known for being a Union General in the Civil War and in particular his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg. He graduated from West Point in 1848 and was put into regular commission. He became a first lieutenant in 1853. For the first years of his military career he served in the Second Dragoons. He joined the Union in 1861 and was assigned to the Army of Virginia under General Pope.
In 1863, Buford was promoted to chief of the cavalry for the Army of the Potomac. His most famous battle is the Battle of Gettysburg in which Buford was able to successfully withhold Lee and his army of Northern Virginia. In late 1863, Buford took leave from the military after suffering from typhoid fever due to the inclimate weather and conditions. He never fully recovered and died weeks later. |
Sources:
Britannica Academic
American National Biography
Britannica Academic
American National Biography