John Buford

Born: March 4, 1826, Woodford County, KY Died: December 16, 1863, Washington, D.C. Place of burial: West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY Education: United States Military Academy Battles and wars: Utah War, American Civil War, MORE Siblings: Napoleon Bonaparte Buford, Helen Buford, Thomas Jefferson Buford, James Monroe Buford Life Within six months of his having played a key role in the opening of the battle of Gettysburg, cavalryman…

Read MoreJohn Buford

Don Carlos Buell

Born: March 23, 1818, Lowell, OH Died: November 19, 1898, Rockport, KY Nickname: The McClellan of the West Place of burial: Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO Battles and wars: Seminole Wars, Mexican–American War, MORE Life A highly capable organizer and administrator, Don Carlos Buell lost his field command for failing to follow up the retreating Confederates after the battle of Perryville. But his friendship…

Read MoreDon Carlos Buell

Daniel Butterfield

Born: October 31, 1831, Utica, NY Died: July 17, 1901, Cold Spring, NY Place of burial: West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY Parents: John Butterfield Education: Union College Overview Thoroughly hated by his fellow officers, Daniel Butterfield was wounded at Gettysburg and “fortunately for him and to the joy of all has gone home.” A New York businessman with the American Express…

Read MoreDaniel Butterfield

Simon Bolivar Buckner

Born: April 1, 1823, Kentucky Died: January 8, 1914, Hart County, KY Place of burial: Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY Education: United States Military Academy Children: Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. Spouse: Delia Clairborne (m. 1885), Mary Kingsbury (m. 1850) Overview The organizer of the Kentucky State Guard, which largely joined the Confederacy, Simon B. Buckner rose to the rank of lieutenant general during the war. The Kentucky…

Read MoreSimon Bolivar Buckner

Hiram Berdan

Born: September 6, 1824, Phelps, NY Died: March 31, 1893, Washington, D.C. Other work: Inventor Place of burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA Battles and wars: American Civil War Commands helds: 2nd United States Sharpshooters, 1st United States Sharpshooters Overview The guiding force behind the creation of the two regiments of United States Sharpshooters was New York inventor and crack rifleman Hiram Berdan. For…

Read MoreHiram Berdan

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

Born: May 28, 1818, St. Bernard Parish, LA Died: February 20, 1893, New Orleans, LA Buried: Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, LA Spouse: Marie Antoinette Laure Villeré (m. 1841–1850), Marguerite Caroline Deslonde (m. ?–1864) Battles and wars: Battle of Contreras, Battle of Churubusco, MORE Overview The services of “The Hero of Fort Sumter,” Pierre G.T. Beauregard, were not utilized to their fullest due to bad blood between…

Read MorePierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

John Brown

Born: May 9, 1800, Torrington, CT Died: December 2, 1859, Charles Town, WV Buried: December 8, 1859, John Brown Farm State Historic Site, North Elba, NY Known for: Involvement in Bleeding Kansas; raid on federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia Children: Owen Brown, Salmon Brown, John Brown Junior, MORE Life John Brown was the son of a wandering New Englander. Brown spent much of his youth in Ohio, where…

Read MoreJohn Brown

Braxton Bragg

Born: March 22, 1817, Warrenton, NC Died: September 27, 1876, Galveston, TX Spouse: Eliza Brooks Ellis (m. 1849–1876) Education: United States Military Academy Buried: Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, AL Battles and wars: Second Seminole War, Mexican–American War, MORE Overview Of the eight men who reached the rank of full general in the Confederate army Braxton Bragg was the most controversial. The North Carolinian West Pointer (1837)…

Read MoreBraxton Bragg

Judah P. Benjamin

Born: August 11, 1811, Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands Died: May 6, 1884, Paris, France Place of burial: Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France Overview US Senator, Confederate attorney general, secretary of war, and secretary of state. Born a British subject in the British West Indies on August 6,1811, Benjamin was taken to the United States in his early youth. The child…

Read MoreJudah P. Benjamin

Clara Harlowe Barton

Born: December 25, 1821, North Oxford, Oxford, MA Died: April 12, 1912, Glen Echo, MD Education: Clinton Liberal Institute Nicknames: Clara, The Angel of the Battlefield Life The youngest of 5 children in a middle-class family, Barton was educated at home, and at 15 started teaching school. Her most notable antebellum achievement was the establishment of a free public school in…

Read MoreClara Harlowe Barton