--- Union ---

Brigadier General Winfield Scott Hancock: USMA, 1844. Hancock served on the frontier and during the Seminole War. He earned a brevet during the Mexican War and served in Kansas during the border disturbances. When the War broke out, he was Chief Quartermaster, Southern District, California. Promoted to brigadier general September 23, 1861, he assumed command of a brigade in Smith’s Division.

Brigadier General Samuel P. Heintzelman: USMA, 1826. Heintzelman was an infantry officer who received brevets during the Mexican War. Promoted brigadier general on May 17, 1861, his troops captured Alexandria, Virginia, on May 24, 1861. He commanded the 3rd Division during the Battle of Bull Run and was wounded during the engagement. Heintzelman commanded a brigade from August–October 1861 and then assumed command of a division until March 13, 1862, when he was given command of the III Corps.

Brigadier General Joseph Hooker: USMA, 1837. Hooker served in the Seminole War and as adjutant at West Point, and earned three brevets during the Mexican War. He resigned from the army in 1853 to farm in California. He was commissioned brigadier general on May 17, 1861, and commanded a brigade in defense of Washington until assuming command of a division. He commanded the 2nd Division, III Corps from March 13, 1862. 

Brigadier General Philip Kearny: Columbia, 1833. Kearny began his military career as an observer with the French cavalry in the 1840 Algerian War. He fought in the Mexican War, losing his left arm during the capture of Mexico City. Resigning from the U. S. Army in 1851, he served with the French army in Italy, winning the Legion of Honor. He was the commander of a New Jersey brigade, but was elevated to divisional command shortly after his arrival on the Peninsula.
    
    

Brigadier General Erasmus Darwin Keyes: USMA, 1832. An artillery officer, Keyes served in coastal defense and on the frontier fighting Indians. He taught at West Point and served on the Academy’s Board of Visitors. At the War’s outbreak, he was serving as Winfield Scott’s Military Secretary, but was promoted to brigadier general and fought at Bull Run. He was named commander of the IV Corps on March 13, 1862.

Major General George Brinton McClellan: USMA, 1846. Second in his class at West Point and a hero of the Mexican War, McClellan served in the Corps of Engineers until resigning to become vice–president of the Illinois Central Rail Road. After his 1861 success in West Virginia, almost simultaneous with the Federal defeat at Bull Run, McClellan assumed command of Union armies around Washington, DC, and eventually replaced Winfield Scott as commander–in–chief of the Federal army.

Brigadier General William F. Smith: USMA, 1845. Smith taught surveying and mathematics at West Point until assigned to Florida where he contracted malaria, which limited his career. As colonel of the 3rd Vermont, he fought at Bull Run and then commanded a brigade. Promoted to brigadier general on August 13, 1861, he assumed command of 2nd Division, IV Corps.

Brigadier General Edwin V. Sumner: A Massachusetts native, Sumner joined the army as a 2nd lieutenant in 1819. He served in the Black Hawk and Mexican Wars, in Kansas and on the frontier fighting Indians. At the outbreak of the War, he commanded the Department of the Pacific. He was promoted to brigadier general and travelled east where he assumed command of a division, Army of the Potomac, on November 25, 1861. Sumner was named commander of the II Corps on March 13, 1862. He earned his nickname "Bull" during the Mexican War when his loud bellowing voice could be heard over the din of battle.

Back to the top

Brigadier General Jubal A. Early: USMA, 1837. After fighting in the Seminole War, he resigned to become a lawyer and served in the Virginia General Assembly. When the Civil War broke out, Early was commissioned colonel of the 24th Virginia Infantry. Early commanded the 6th Brigade at Bull Run and was appointed brigadier general on July 21, 1861.
    

Major General Daniel Harvey Hill: USMA, 1842. Hill served in the Mexican War before resigning in 1849 to teach mathematics at Washington College and then in 1854 at Davidson College. He was named superintendent of the North Carolina Military Institute in 1859. Commissioned colonel of the 1st North Carolina, he fought at Big Bethel and was promoted to brigadier general on July 10, 1861, and major general on March 26, 1862, commanding the Yorktown defenses under Magruder.

General Joseph Eggleston Johnston: USMA, 1829. Johnston served in the Black Hawk War and as an Aide-de-Camp in the Seminole War before resigning in 1837. He became a civil engineer in Florida where in 1838 he took command of an expedition under attack by Indians. Rejoining the army, he fought in the Mexican War and was wounded five times and breveted three times. From 1855 to 1860 he served as Chief of Topographical Engineers in Texas and as lieutenant colonel of the 1st U. S. Cavalry. He served in the Utah Expedition and then was named acting inspector general until promoted to brigadier general and U. S. Army Quartermaster on June 28, 1860. He resigned at the War’s outbreak and was named major general of Virginia. On May 14, 1861, he was appointed brigadier general, CSA, and commanded the combined Confederate forces at Bull Run. Appointed full general on August 31, 1861, he was assigned to command the Department of the Potomac.

General Robert Edward Lee: USMA, 1829. Lee served in harbor defense and other construction projects until earning fame during the Mexican War, at which time he was wounded and awarded three brevets. He was Superintendent of West Point, lieutenant colonel with the 2nd Cavalry on the frontier and commander of the Federal forces that put down John Brown’s insurrection at Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Named commander of Virginia troops on April 23, 1861, his first field campaign in Western Virginia ended in failure in September 1861. He was then assigned as commander of Confederate forces along the South Atlantic Coast, until being recalled to Richmond to serve as Military Advisor to President Jefferson Davis.

Major General James Longstreet: USMA, 1842. He served in Florida and the Mexican War where he was wounded and breveted twice. Longstreet was appointed brigadier general, CSA, on June 17, 1861, and commanded the 4th Brigade at Bull Run. Promoted major general on October 7, 1861, he led a division under Johnston’s command.

Major General John Bankhead Magruder: USMA, 1830. He served in coastal defense and garrisons until fighting in the Seminole War. He fought in the Mexican War, during which time he was wounded and earned two brevets. At the War’s outbreak, he was named colonel, CSA, and assigned to the Peninsula, where he won fame with his victory at Big Bethel on June 10, 1861. He was promoted brigadier general on June 17 and major general on October 7, 1861. He commanded the 13,000-strong Army of the Peninsula.
    

Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains: USMA, 1827. Rains served on the frontier and in garrison. During the Seminole War he was wounded and breveted. He fought in the Mexican War. Resigning from the Regular Army, he was appointed brigadier general, CSA, on September 23, 1861, and given command of a brigade in Magruder’s Army of the Peninsula.
     

Major General Gustavus W. Smith: USMA, 1842. Smith taught engineering at West Point and supervised harbor construction in New England until earning a brevet during the Mexican War. He taught again at West Point until resigning in 1854 to work in the construction business. Smith was named Street Commissioner of New York City in 1858, holding that post until 1861. He was appointed major general in the Confederate army on September 19, 1861, and commanded a division in Johnston’s Army of Virginia.
   

Brigadier General James Ewell Brown Stuart: USMA, 1854. Stuart served on the frontier and in Kansas before acting as Robert E. Lee’s volunteer aide during John Brown’s Harper’s Ferry raid. Given the rank of lieutenant colonel of Virginia Infantry on May 10, 1861, two weeks later Stuart was named colonel of Cavalry. He served at Harper’s Ferry and Bull Run, and was appointed brigadier general on September 24, 1861. He commanded the cavalry during the action at Dranesville, Virginia on December 20, 1861, and commanded the cavalry reserve at Williamsburg..

Back to the top