Important People of the Civil War

In this chapter, we are going to take a little detour to learn about

some of the most important people in the Civil War. Over the last two

chapters we have learned about Abraham Lincoln, back-woods lawyer

turned President of the United States of America. As president,

Abraham was immediately faced with a staggering burden! How was he

going to keep the Union together and rid the country of slavery? There

were those, in both the North and South, who urged President Lincoln

to simply let the South secede without a fight. He refused, for he felt

just as strongly about preserving the Union as he did about destroying

slavery!

In the next chapters we are going to learn about some of the battles

of the Civil War, but today let’s meet the people who filled the leading

roles in this unfolding, epic drama. President Lincoln knew that he was

not going to be able to preserve the Union or rid the nation of slavery

without a fight! He knew that he needed to surround himself with

people he could trust and would support his goals and plans.

Because this was a war being fought countryman against

countryman, officers from both sides had received their military

education in the same military institutes. This truly was a “brothers’

war;” much like siblings in one family being raised by the same parents

with the same rules and guidelines, officers were trained by the same

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teachers and rules, and both sides

had been taught the same war

strategies.

President Lincoln knew he

needed a general whom he could

trust to be the commander of the

Union Army. He found such a man in

Ulysses S. Grant. Like Lincoln,

General Grant hated slavery and

would do anything possible to

preserve the Union. Grant was as

determined as a bloodhound! He

could stay focused on the desired

outcome and do what was

necessary to achieve that outcome.

His war tactics are sometimes

criticized because of the high cost

of human life, but others, who know

that freedom is not free, admire his

stubborn “bulldog” stance.

Ulysses S. Grant was a rather

private person. He was very much a

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William T. Sherman

Ulysses S. Grant

family man who doted on his four children and loved his wife, Julia, very

much. Throughout his military career, he was often separated from his

family for extended lengths of time. These times were always extremely

hard for him, and at times he struggled with depression, but Grant was

admired and esteemed by his men in the army and respected by the

other officers in the Union Army.

Grant’s most trusted general, William T. Sherman, was the head

officer of a military school in the South when the threat of war came. He

was offered a leading position in the Confederate army, which he turned

down to enlist in the Union army.

Sherman was a moody sort of fellow, given to bouts of severe

depression and low self-esteem, but General Grant saw in him the ability

to lead in military strategy and encouraged him to “pull himself up by

his bootstraps!” Sherman did rise to the occasion and became one of

the most renowned generals of the Civil War.

In the Confederate army, the leading general was Robert E. Lee. Lee

hated slavery. Yes, you read that right. Robert E. Lee hated slavery and

was against the secession of the South. Before the war started,

Abraham Lincoln offered to make him commander of the Union army!

Lee might have accepted the position, except his home state of Virginia

joined the Confederacy. Lee could not bring himself to fight against his

home, friends, and family, and so he took the offered position as the

commander of the Confederate army. He said, “I cannot raise my hand

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against my birthplace, my home...my

children.” Lee became a great general

for the South and was known for his

craftiness.

The story of how Robert E. Lee

became the commander of the

Confederate army is such an excellent

example of what a strange paradox

the Civil War really was! (A paradox is

something that seems to contradict

itself) There were many families, which

had members on both sides, with the

war tearing them apart. No one was

untouched; even the presidents’

families were affected. In the North,

Mary Todd Lincoln, who had been

born and raised in Kentucky, was

devastated when her three brothers

were killed fighting for the

Confederate cause. In the South,

first lady Varina Davis had relatives

fighting in the North.

Second in line to Confederate

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Robert E. Lee

“Stonewall” Jackson

General Robert E. Lee was “Stonewall” Jackson. He got his name for his

courageousness in battle, but he was also skilled in strategy. His style of

fighting worked well with Lee’s craftiness on the battlefield. Lee and

Jackson made a dynamic team, a team which tested the Union duo of

Grant and Sherman to the end.

Narration Break: retell and discuss what we have read today.

Just as we learned in America’s Story, Volume 1, women often have

an important role in war. In the Civil War, women had an extremely

important role. Just like in the American Revolution, some women cut

their hair and joined the army to fight alongside the men. Others acted

as spies, while still others were nurses, helping the wounded and dying

on the battlefields.

This is the story about one such woman. The story of Clara Barton is

one of my favorites in American history. You have probably noticed by

now that I have many “favorite stories!” It is very hard to choose a real

favorite, because there are so many people who have inspiring stories.

Clara is one of those people who lived what she believed. She is another

good example of how one person can make a big difference in the world

around them.

Clara was born on Christmas Day, 1821. She was the youngest of

five children, and her older siblings took it upon themselves to give her

an excellent education. By the time she was old enough to actually go to

school, Clara had learned a lot about a wide variety of subjects. She

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excelled in spelling, mathematics, geography and science. Clara became

a teacher at the age of seventeen and did her best to give all of her

students the best education she could. It gave her great joy to teach

and influence the young lives around her. Clara noticed that wealthy

families were able to give their children a much better education than

the poorer families were, so she decided to open a free school. In a

short time, her school had grown from six to six hundred students!

The school board decided to hire a new head school teacher, and

Clara was bitterly disappointed to find out she had not gotten the

position, even though she had started the school and served the

students faithfully for years. Broken hearted, Clara resigned from her

school.

At the start of the Civil War, Clara worked as a volunteer, distributing

bandages, food, and medical supplies needed to help the wounded

soldiers. She wanted to do more though, and asked permission to take

supplies right to the front lines. She gained her permission in 1862, and

for the next two years, worked tirelessly as a nurse to the wounded

Union soldiers.

Clara was made superintendent of the Union army nurses, for

everyone loved and admired her. She was often called the “Angel of the

Battlefield,” because she was always there to hold a hand, bandage a

wound, or comfort a young dying soldier. What a strong and determined

lady!

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Clara said, "You must never so much as think whether you like it or not,

whether it is bearable or not; you must never think of anything except

the need, and how to meet it."

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Clara Ba!on

Clara did not stop working after the war was over. Instead, she set

out to help locate missing soldiers. She founded an organization that

located over twenty-two thousand missing men! She also helped set up

a cemetery for the men killed in the war. Clara wanted to do anything

she could to help those around her.

In 1881, Clara and her supporters formed the “American National

Red Cross Society.” While traveling in Europe, she had found that many

of the European countries had Red Cross Societies. She was puzzled

why our country did not have one. She asked the president why, and

after not receiving a satisfactory reply, she decided to start one herself.

Clara served as the president of the Red Cross for twenty-three years,

and in those years, she set up Red Cross units all over the country.

They took care of people during all sorts of disasters, including fires,

tornadoes and earthquakes, epidemics of sickness and devastating

floods.

Perhaps you have seen the Red Cross flag on TV, in the newspaper,

or maybe even in real life. The familiar red cross, emblazoned on the

snow-white background, is an international symbol of hope and help.

The next time you see that flag, remember the little woman who decided

to do everything she could to make the lives of those around her a little

better. Clara Barton, crusader for children, wounded soldiers, and the

down-trodden, is an American hero who made a big difference.

Narration Break: retell the story which we read today.

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