The Civil War People
Who Made It Happen
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) was the 16th President of the United States during one of the most consequential periods in American history, the Civil War. Before being elected president, Lincoln se...
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was the first and only President of the Confederate States of America. After a distinguished career in national politics as Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce, Dav...
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) was one of the most talented and successful generals of the Civil War. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1846, Lee fought in the Mexican-A...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) served as Commander in Chief of the Union Army during the Civil War, leading the North to victory over the Confederacy. Grant later became the 18th President of the U...
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) was an American abolitionist and novelist who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, one of the most influential books in American history. Her father was Lyman Beecher, pasto...
Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw (1837–1863) was the white colonel in charge of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first all-Black units to fight for the Union during the Civil War. He was killed while...