People of the Civil War

There were many important people in the Civil War. There were presidents and many generals. One of the best known presidents was President Abraham Lincoln, our 16^th president of the United States of America. When he first became President, he had no beard. He grew a beard on the

suggestion of a young girl who thought that he would look better with one. He was once accused of being two faced and simply responded by saying “Would I wear this face if I had another?” On March 4^th, 1865 at the end of the Civil War he said, “…but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.”

Other than Lincoln, there were several other people, now commonly known in history books. One of these people was Jefferson Davis whom was the President of the Confederate States of America. He was from Mississippi, and had served as Secretary of War for the United States. He served as his own Secretary of War for the Confederacy.

There were many generals in the Civil War that lead the troops into battle, or once in awhile, away from it. We shall begin with the the Northern US generals. One that is known and told about in every school, whether you remember it or not, was Ulysses Simpson Grant. He lived from 1822 to 1885. He was born in Ohio, and was a West Point Graduate. In his time he fought in the Mexican War, and also became the 18^th President of the United States. Several people always seem to say that he failed at everything he did in his life except marriage and war.

Another person who fought in the Mexican War was George Brinton McClellan. He was born in 1826 in Pennsylvania, and died in 1885. George was also a West Point Graduate, but he went when he was only 15 and ended up graduating 2^nd in his class. He has been called the Hero of The Mexican War.

Another West Point Graduate was Ambrose Everett Brunside whom lived from 1824 to 1881. He originally came from India. He ended up receiving command of the Army of Potomac after Antietam. Later on he was fired after the battle of Fredericksberg. He has been known to be called the guy with the cool beard.