Key Figures of the Civil War

Stephen Douglas

Illinois senator and author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He promoted popular sovereignty and debated Lincoln in the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

Robert E. Lee

Leading Confederate general. Respected for his tactics, but ultimately surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America. Struggled to maintain unity among states due to his belief in states' rights.

Abraham Lincoln

16th U.S. President. Led the Union through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and aimed to restore the Union with a lenient Reconstruction policy before his assassination.

Frederick Douglass

Former enslaved person and leading abolitionist. Advocated for Black soldiers in the Union Army and pushed Lincoln to make emancipation a war goal.

Ulysses S. Grant

Commanding General by 1864; accepted Lee's surrender.

William T. Sherman

Known for 'total war' and the March to the Sea.

George McClellan

Early general, criticized for hesitation and later ran against Lincoln in 1864.

Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson

Lee's top commander; died in 1863.

J.E.B. Stuart

Cavalry leader known for reconnaissance and raids.