civil war PEOPLE only

harriet tubman

(c.1820–1913) was born into slavery in Maryland. In 1849, she escaped and traveled to Philadelphia. She then became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds of enslaved people, including her parents and siblings, to freedom in the North.

harriet beecher stowe

(1811–1896) was an American writer and abolitionist best known for her antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1852. She began writing her novel as a series of stories, which first appeared in the abolitionist newspaper National Era in 1851–1852.

john brown

(1800–1859) was an American abolitionist best known for leading a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859. During that raid, he and his co-conspirators were captured and later executed. Brown is remembered by some as a militant extremist and by others as a martyr in the cause against slavery.

dred scott

(c.1800–1857) was an African American man born into slavery who sued for freedom on the grounds that he had lived for a time in a state where slavery was prohibited. In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott, stating that his time in a free state did not nullify his status as an enslaved person, and that as such he was property and could not sue in the courts. Following the ruling, the sons of Scott's original enslaver purchased Scott and his wife and freed them both.

roger b. taney

(1777–1864) served as the fifth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He is best known for his decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, in which he wrote that enslaved persons were not entitled to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories, as such laws would deprive slave owners of their property.

abraham lincoln

(1809–1865) was born on a Kentucky farm. He was self-educated and became an attorney. He joined the Whig Party and was elected to serve in the Illinois state legislature. He ran an unsuccessful campaign against Stephen A. Douglas for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1858, during which he gained national acclaim for his performance in a series of debates and for his strong stance against the expansion of slavery. Though he lost the Senate race, he went on to become president in 1861. He led the country during the Civil War and was assassinated in April 1865.

stephen a. douglas

(1813–1861) was a U.S. Senator. was an ardent supporter of westward expansion and an advocate for popular sovereignty on the question of slavery in new states and territories. He helped win passage of the Compromise of 1850 and proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. Douglas gained national acclaim for his role in the Senate campaign debates with Abraham Lincoln in 1858.

jefferson davis

(1808–1889) was a southern planter who became the President of the Confederate States of America. Born in Kentucky, he grew up on a plantation in Mississippi. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to serve in the Black Hawk War and the Mexican War. Though he opposed secession, he resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate when Mississippi seceded. He was elected President of the Confederacy at the Confederate Convention and was inaugurated on February 18, 1861.

john c. brekinridge

(1821–1875) was a Kentucky lawyer who served as the 14th vice president of the United States under President . In the election of 1860, he was the nominee of the Southern Democrats in a divided Democratic Party. Breckinridge served as a Confederate officer during the Civil War, and later, as the Confederate secretary of war.

william t. sherman

(1820–1891) was a judge’s son from Ohio who became a renowned Union general during the Civil War. He fought in the Battles of Bull Run and Shiloh before joining forces with General Grant to lay siege to Vicksburg in 1863. Following their victory, led his “March to the Sea” 250 miles east to capture Savannah, Georgia.

robert e. lee

(1807–1870) was a Virginia military general who became the commander of the Confederate forces during the Civil War. On April 9, 1865, surrendered his forces to Union General Grant at Appomattox Court House. After the war, he became the president of Washington College, now known as Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia.

stonewall jackson

(1824–1863), was one of the most renowned Confederate generals of the Civil War. He led his troops to a stunning victory at the Battle of Bull Run in 1861, surprising the Union with his leadership and the strength of southern resistance. He died of pneumonia after being accidentally shot by his own men near Chancellorsville, Virginia.

ulysses s. grant

(1822–1885) was a Union general who later became the 18th president of the United States from 1869–1877. won key victories along the Mississippi River, including at the Battle of Shiloh and the Battle of Vicksburg. He was appointed commander of all Union armies in March 1864, and led them to victory at Appomattox Court House, where he accepted General Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865.

george pickett

(1825–1875) was a soldier from Virginia who became a Confederate general during the Civil War. He is best known for leading a large contingent in what came to be known as Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

john wilkes booth

(1838–1865) was an American actor and Confederate sympathizer who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Eleven days after he assassinated Lincoln, Booth was killed at a farm in Virginia.

matthew brady

(c.1823–1896) was an American photographer and journalist best known for his photographic documentation of the Civil War.