Lewis "Lew" Wallace (1827-1905) was born on April 10, 1827 in Brookville, Indiana to a prominent family. His father, David Wallace, was a West Point graduate, U.S. Congressman, and 6th governor of Indiana. Wallace was well-educated for the time, and showed a proficiency for writing. He went on to publish the influential novel Ben Hur…
Tag: Union
First Personality Pages Published
This encyclopedia will not only feature information about the battles of 1861, but also the personalities who fought them. Quality images of many of these individuals are hard to come by, since some died early in the war and others had lackluster military careers and were overlooked. So I've commissioned unique illustrations for each profile.…
Illustration of Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell (1818-1885) was a Regular Army officer from Ohio who is best known for commanding the Union army at the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838, alongside his future opponent in that battle, Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard. He fought in the Mexican-American War, and…
Obituary Found for PVT Seeley E. Mensch
Finding a few new sources regarding the Action at Greenbrier River seems to have opened the floodgates, as I've now also discovered an obituary for Private Seeley E. Mensch, who was mortally wounded in the ambush. The obituary, posted on his Find a Grave page, contains a detailed account by a surgeon of the 14th…
Illustration of Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (1818–1893) played a crucial but controversial role in the early Civil War. He was a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. Despite having no military experience, he secured a rank as brigadier general of Massachusetts volunteers and was sent south the secure the railroads to Washington, DC. In Baltimore, Maryland, Butler suppressed a…
Illustration of Robert Patterson
On paper, Irish-born Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson (1792-1881) was the perfect person to lead the Department of Pennsylvania in 1861. He served in the Pennsylvania militia during the War of 1812, led troops to suppress two separate riots in Philadelphia, and fought in the Mexican War as a high-ranking officer. He owned several cotton mills,…
Illustration of Robert L. McCook
Robert Latimer McCook (1827-1862) was a lawyer from Ohio, one of nine children of Daniel McCook. Robert, seven of his brothers, and his father all fought for the Union during the Civil War. Their family was known as the "Fighting McCooks". When the Civil War broke out, Robert recruited the 9th Ohio Infantry from among…
Illustration of William S. Rosecrans
William Starke Rosecrans (1819-1898) was born in Ohio and despite having no formal education, graduated from West Point in 1842. He did not fight in the Mexican War and went into business as president of the Preston Coal Oil Company. When the Civil War broke out, he became aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan…
Illustration of Jacob D. Cox
Jacob Dolson Cox, Jr. (1828-1900) was something of a renaissance man. Born in Canada to American parents, Cox attended Oberlin College and later became a lawyer. He moved with his wife, Helen Clarissa Finney, to Ohio where he became a state senator. During the Civil War, he was a brigadier general and led the famed…
Illustration of Thomas A. Morris
Brig. Gen. Thomas Armstrong Morris (1811–1904) was a civil engineer from Kentucky who led a brigade under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Northwest Virginia Campaign. Morris graduated from West Point in 1834 and served as an artillery officer. When the Civil War broke out, he became quartermaster general of the Indiana state militia.…
Spirit of '61 