CDV, General Benjamin H. Grierson

Colonel of the 6th Illinois Cavalry in 1862

Famous for his daring 1863 cavalry raid through the heart of the Confederacy to Baton Rouge which now bears his name, "Grierson's Raid"

(1826-1911) Born in the borough of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, today a section of Pittsburgh. In 1851, he became a music teacher and band leader in Jacksonville, Illinois. When the Civil War began in 1861, Grierson entered the United States volunteer service as an aide-de-camp to General Benjamin M. Prentiss. He was then commissioned major of the 6th...  

CDV, General Henry Prince

He was very severely wounded in the Indian Wars in 1836, and was so seriously wounded at Molino del Rey during the Mexican War that it kept him out of the service for 3 years recovering!

Captured during the Civil War in the Battle at Cedar Mountain, Virginia in 1862

(1811-92) Born in Eastpoint, Maine, he graduated in the West Point class of 1835, and was commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry. He fought in the Florida Wars against the Seminole and Creek Indians and was seriously wounded at Camp Izard in 1836. He was...  

CDV, General Nathaniel J. Jackson

Colonel of the 1st & 5th Maine Infantry Regiments

He was seriously wounded and carried off the battlefield at Gaines's Mill, Virginia in 1862

Wounded on 3 separate occasions during the Civil War and cited for gallantry by his superiors

(1818-92) Born in the coastal town of Newburyport located in Essex County, Massachusetts, Jackson was active in the Maine State Militia, and would command some of those militiamen early in the war. In 1861, Jackson joined the Union army, and was appointed commander of the 1st Maine Infantry...  

CDV, General Hiram G. Berry

Killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 3, 1863

(1824-63) Born in Rockland, Maine, he served several terms in the Maine State Legislature, and was the mayor of Rockland. He founded and commanded the "Rockland Guard," a volunteer militia company, which held a sterling reputation for drill and discipline. At the beginning of the Civil War, Berry went to Augusta and offered his services to Governor Washburn, and was given orders to recruit a regiment, which he did, and was appointed colonel of the 4th Maine Infantry,...  

CDV, General Samuel D. Sturgis

(1822-89) Born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, he graduated in the celebrated West Point class of 1846. Some of his fellow graduates went on to earn everlasting fame in the War Between the States including Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, George B. McClellan, George E. Pickett, George Stoneman, Darius N. Couch, John G. Foster, Dabney H. Maury, Jesse L. Reno, Cadmus M. Wilcox, and several other notable generals. During the Mexican War he served as a lieutenant of dragoons and was captured and held prisoner for eight days while making a...  

CDV, General William R. Brown

Colonel 19th New York Infantry

Colonel 168th New York Infantry

Image taken in Newburgh, New York

(1819-78) Born at Newburgh, New York, he was engaged in the manufacture of lime before the war. Brown enlisted at the age of 43 years old, on May 26, 1862, at Newburgh, N.Y., and was commissioned colonel in the 19th New York Infantry which he commanded. This 3 months regiment hailed from Orange County, N.Y. He then mustered out of the regiment at the expiration of their term of service, on September 6, 1862, having served at...  

CDV, General Egbert D. Brown

Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Missouri Infantry

Brown was severely wounded in the shoulder at Springfield, Mo. and lost the use of an arm

With rare St. Louis, Missouri back mark

(1816-1902) Born in Brownsville, New York, as a young man he sailed on a whaling ship eventually putting roots down in Toledo, Ohio, in the early 1840's. He became a respected grain dealer, and built the first steam elevator in town. Entering local politics, he became the mayor of Toledo. He then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852, and was engaged in...  

CDV, General Albion B. Howe

He served under Colonel Robert E. Lee, U.S.A., during the suppression of the 1859 John Brown Raid at Harpers Ferry, Va.

He saw action at the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg

Served on the Honor Guard that stood watch over Lincoln's corpse while lying in State

He was on the commission that tried the Lincoln conspirators

(1818-97) Born in Standish, Maine, he graduated in the West Point class of 1841, and earned a brevet for gallantry in the Mexican War during General Winfield Scott's advance upon...  

CDV, General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford

Colonel of the 27th Illinois Infantry

Mathew Brady photograph

(1807-83) Born in Woodford County, Kentucky, at "Rose Hill," his family's plantation. At the time of his birth his namesake, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, was at the height of his power. He was the half brother of Union cavalry General John Buford of Gettysburg fame. His cousin, Abraham Buford, was a general in the Confederate States Army. After receiving an education in the plantation schools of Kentucky, he graduated in the West Point class of 1827....  

CDV, General Grenville M. Dodge

Colonel of the 4th Iowa Infantry

He was severely wounded in the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas in 1862, and in the Atlanta campaign in 1864

Served as Chief of Intelligence for the army of General U.S. Grant

He fought against the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians in 1865

United States Congressman from Iowa

(1831-1916) Born in Danvers, Massachusetts, he graduated from Norwich University with a degree in civil engineering in 1851. He settled in the Missouri River city of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and for the next 10...  

CDV, General Francis P. Blair, Jr.

United States Congressman & Senator from Missouri

He was instrumental in preventing Missouri from joining the Confederacy in 1861

The Blair family were close friends of President Abraham Lincoln

(1821-75) Born in Lexington, Kentucky, he was the son of an advisor to presidents, and the brother of Montgomery Blair, President Abraham Lincoln's first postmaster general. From secession to reconstruction, Francis P. Blair, Jr. made a series of major contributions to the Union cause. No man did more to block Missouri's joining the...  

CDV, General Samuel W. Crawford

He commanded several artillery pieces at Fort Sumter during the Confederate bombardment

Severely wounded at the Battles of Antietam, Md., and the Weldon Railroad, Va.

(1829-92) Born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Medical School in 1850. The following year he accepted an appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army and served at various points on the western frontier until 1860. He was stationed at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston Harbor, and then was transferred to Fort Sumter...