Overview Criticism of his army commander, Braxton Bragg, to Jefferson Davis cost South Carolinian West Pointer (1842) Daniel H. Hill his corps command and his promotion to lieutenant general in the Confederate army. Posted to the artillery, he had won…
Overview Known for his red battle shirt and his hard-hitting attacks at the head of the famed Light Division, Ambrose P. Hill proved to be an example of the Peter principle. Military In reserve at lst Bull Run, he fought…
Overview Graduating at the very bottom of his 1847 class at West Point, Henry Heth served 14 years on frontier duty before resigning his infantry captaincy on April 25, 1861, to serve his native Virginia. Military His initial service came…
Overview Born in Manheim, Pa. on Sept 30,1805, Heintzelman devoted over 4 decades to the service of his country, rising from 2d lieutenant to major general and corps commander in the Civil War. While his experience, devotion to duty, and…
Overview Problems with Braxton Bragg affected only slightly the outstanding record of the premier lieutenant general to serve in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. By the time that this Georgian West Pointer (1838) resigned as lieutenant colonel, lst Cavalry, on…
Overview Born in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1824, and although named for America’s top military hero of the day, Winfield Scott Hancock was not originally intended for a military career; nevertheless he was destined to become one of the…
Overview The Civil War career of the much-maligned Union commander in chief and chief of staff, Henry W. Halleck, was summarized by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles as he “originates nothing, anticipates nothing. . . . takes no responsibility,…
Overview Born in Port Tobbaco, Maryland, as a teenager O’Neal moved from her family’s Maryland farm to her aunt’s fashionable boardinghouse in Washington, D.C. Personable, intelligent, and outgoing, she adapted easily to the social scene of the capital, and people…
Overview Born in Mount Pleasant, Pa., December 30, 1819, Geary was a man equally at home in politics and the military. He was a student at Jefferson College in Canons-burg, Pa., when the death of his father forced him to…
Overview The best evidence of the changes that had occurred in warfare from Jomini to Clausewitz can be found in the campaigns of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. The latter was born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Ohio but…
Overview Born in Upson City, Georgia, February 6, 1832 he attended the University of Georgia but dropped out to study law and become a member of the Atlanta Bar. A civilian turned soldier, John B. Gordon became a trusted corps…
Overview Born in Savannah, Georgia on January 21, 1813, Fremont was one four major generals appointed by President Lincoln, he was easily the most celebrated. As a Union general, Fremont’s major Civil War contribution was more political than military when…
