Key People of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era

Abraham Lincoln

President of the Union during the Civil War, he worked to keep the nation united.

Clara Barton

She cared for wounded soldiers on the battlefield during the Civil War and later founded the American Red Cross.

Frederick Douglas

Through speeches and writings, he strongly argued for the end of slavery and encouraged African Americans to fight for the Union.

John Brown

He attempted to start a slave uprising by attacking the federal arsenal during the Harpers Ferry Raid, increasing tensions between the North and South before the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee

As the leader of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, he became one of the most well-known military commanders of the war.

Hiram Rhodes Revels

During Reconstruction, he became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy and led the Southern states during their attempt to separate from the United States.

Philip Bazaar

He was a Chilean-born sailor who earned the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Union attack at the Battle of Fort Fisher.

Andrew Johnson

After Lincoln's assassination, he became president and led a Reconstruction plan that many in Congress believed was too lenient toward former Confederate states.

William Carney

He became the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor after bravely protecting the American flag during the Battle of Fort Wagner.

Dred Scott

His case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in U.S. territories.

Ulysses S. Grant

He commanded Union armies and led them to victory over the Confederacy, helping end the Civil War.

Harriet Tubman

She helped enslaved people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad and supported the Union as a spy and nurse.

Henry Clay

Wrote many compromised and supported internal improvements

Stephen Douglas

Wrote the Kansas-Nebraska act and rivaled Lincoln in the 1850s.

John C. Calhoun

Previous vice president to Andrew Jackson and wrote the Doctrine Nullification. Supported secession and state’s rights.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin and convinced many northerners to become abolitionlists. It increased conflict with both sides and made conflict hard to avoid

Stonewall Jackson

Confederate general who rallied his troops and stood up to the Union soldiers (like a stone wall) at the battle of Bull Run

54th Massachusetts Regiment

African-American Union regiment during the Civil War

William T Sherman

Union general who engaged in total war destroying much of the South