Generals of The American Civil War

These generals commanded troops during the Civil War.


Confederacy Union

Robert E. Lee
The Confederacy's top commander and an inspiration to a great many

P.G.T. Beauregard
Confederate general most well-known as the commander who ordered the first shots of the war

Braxton Bragg
Confederate general most well-known for his victory at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863

Nathan Bedford Forrest
A highly successful Confederate cavalry commander, he was known as the "Wizard of the Saddle."

A.P. Hill
A Confederate general in the American Civil War. An aggressive commander, he found great success on the battlefield. He also died there.

John Bell Hood
Confederate general known for his aggressive tactics, which succeeded early in the war but ultimately led to later defeats

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
Perhaps the Confederacy's most inspirational commander, he certainly had a famous nickname

Joseph Johnston
Confederate general who was the highest-ranking member of the U.S. Army to resign and join the Confederacy

James Longstreet
Confederate general known as a skilled strategist and one of Robert E. Lee's most reliable commanders

George Pickett
Confederate general who had command appointments throughout the war but is most well-known for leading "Pickett's Charge," a frontal assault on a heavily fortified position during the Battle of Gettysburg

J.E.B. Stuart
Confederacy's well-known cavalry commander

Ulysses S. Grant
The Union's top general for the last two years of the war

Don Carlos Buell
Union general who commanded troops in the West and took part in the Battle of Shiloh and the Battle of Perryville

John Buford
Union general most well-known for enabling Union troops to seize the high ground at Gettysburg, a development that ultimately led to the Union victory there

Ambrose Burnside
Union general who had an uneven command record during the war.

Henry Halleck
A well-known administrator and military theoretician who was the Union general-in-chief for a time during the war.

Joseph Hooker
Union general most well-known for one disastrous defeat, at Chancellorsville, and one spectacular victory, at the "Battle above the Clouds"

George McClellan
One of the most famous commanders of the war. A strong organizer, he became known for his caution in battle and his great reputation with his troops

Irvin McDowell
Union general most well-known for being on the losing end in two battles at Bull Run

George Gordon Meade
Union general who served for most of the war and is most well-known for being the victorious commander at the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg

John Pope
Union general who had successes in the West in the early part of the war but is most well-known for his defeat the Second Battle of Bull Run/Manassas in 1862

William S. Rosencrans
Union general most well-known for his victory at the Battle of Stones River and his defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga

Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a famous, successful commander in the U.S. Army during three wars in the 19th Century.">

Philip Sheridan
A Union cavalry commander, he is most well-known for "The Burning," a campaign of devastation that he oversaw in the Shenandoah Valley in the waning months of the war.

William T. Sherman
Union general most well-known for his capture of Atlanta and his devastating March to the Sea"

Navy

David Farragut
Naval commander who captured two prize Confederate seaports and gave the Union control of both the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first admiral in U.S. history

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