The Biographer

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Born: July 13, 1821, Bedford County, TN Died: October 29, 1877, Memphis, TN Buried: Health Sciences Park, Memphis, TN Battles and wars: American Civil War, Battle of Fort Donelson, MORE Children: William Montgomery Bedford Forrest, Fanny Ann Forrest Overview With no formal military training, Nathan Bedford Forrest became one of…
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Elon John Farnsworth

Born: July 30, 1837, Michigan Died: July 3, 1863, Gettysburg, PA Education: University of Michigan Years of service: 1861–1863 Battles and wars: Utah War, American Civil War, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of Gettysburg Overview Elon Farnsworth was an officer who experienced a meteoric rise to a general’s star only to…
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Richard Stoddert Ewell

Born: February 8, 1817, Georgetown, D.C. Died: January 25, 1872, Spring Hill, TN Education: United States Military Academy Battles and wars: Battle of Contreras, Battle of Churubusco, MORE Siblings: Benjamin Stoddert Ewell Place of burial: Nashville City Cemetery, Nashville, TN, Old City Cemetery, Lynchburg, VA Overview As Stonewall Jackson’s successor, the…
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Clement Anselm Evans

Born: February 25, 1833, Stewart County, GA Died: July 2, 1911, Atlanta, GA Education: Augusta Law School Battles and wars: American Civil War, Seven Days Battles, MORE Overview A Georgia lawyer and politician, Clement A. Evans became a division commander in the last months of the war. Wounded…
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Sarah Emma Edmonds

Born: December 1841, Magaguadavic, Canada Died: September 5, 1898, La Porte, TX Spouse: Linnus. H. Seelye (m. 1867–1898) Years of service: 1861–1865 Education: Oberlin College Overview Emma Edmonds was one of approximately 400 women who succeeded in enlisting in the army (either Union or Confederate) during the…
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Jubal Anderson Early

Born: November 3, 1816, Franklin County, VA Died: March 2, 1894, Lynchburg, VA Resting place: Lynchburg Battles and wars: Seminole Wars, Mexican–American War, MORE Siblings: Richard Early, Anne Letitia Early, Robert Hairston Early, MORE Overview Always an irascible officer, Jubal A. Early suffered overwhelming defeats in the Shenandoah Valley and went on…
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Dorothea Dix

Born: April 4, 1802, Hampden, ME Died: July 17, 1887, Trenton, NJ Buried: Mount Auburn Cemetery, MA Life A noted social reformer, Dix became the Union’s Superintendent of Female Nurses during the Civil War. The soft spoken yet autocratic crusader had spent more than 20…
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Jefferson Davis & Varina Howell Davis

Jefferson Davis Born: June 3, 1808, Kentucky Died: December 6, 1889, New Orleans, LA Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis was born June 3, 1808, in that portion of Christian county, Kentucky, which was afterwards set off as…
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George Armstrong Custer

Born: December 5, 1839, New Rumley, OH Died: June 25, 1876, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, MT Spouse: Elizabeth Bacon Custer (m. 1864–1876) Place of burial: West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY, Woodland Cemetery, Monroe, MI Overview Although better known for his Indian fighting, George Custer compiled…
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Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry

Born: June 5, 1825, Lincoln County, GA Died: February 12, 1903, Asheville, NC Education: University of Georgia, Harvard Law School Life Although he played an active role in the events of 1861-65, Jabez L. M. Curry’s greatest service to the South was performed in the postwar…
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Philip St. George Cooke

Born: June 13, 1809, Leesburg, VA Died: March 20, 1895, Detroit, MI Place of burial: Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, MI Battles and wars: Black Hawk War, Mexican–American War, MORE Children: Flora Cooke, John Rogers Cooke Life Born in Leesburg, Virginia, June 13, 1809, the U.S. Army was Cooke’s life for 50…
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John Lincoln “Johnny” Clem

Born: August 13, 1851, Newark, OH Died: May 13, 1937, San Antonio, TX Years of service: 1863–1864, 1871–1915 Place of burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA Awards: Civil War Campaign Medal, Indian Campaign Medal, Spanish War Service Medal Battles and wars: American Civil War, Battle of Chickamauga Life Born in Newark,…
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