Union Generals CDV's

CDV General Jacob G. Lauman

(1813-67) Commissioned as colonel of the 7th Iowa Infantry, on July 11, 1861. He served under Gen. U.S. Grant and was severely wounded while cutting through the Confederate lines at the battle of Belmont, on Nov. 7, 1861. He distinguished himself at the capture of Fort Donelson, where, in command of a brigade of Gen. C.F. Smith's division, he was one of the first to enter the Confederate works. For his gallantry he was appointed brigadier general. At the battle of Shiloh, he commanded a brigade of Gen. Stephen Hurlbut's division, which sustained 458...  

CDV General Alfred T.A. Torbert

(1833-80) Graduated in the West Point class of 1855. On Sept. 16, 1861, he became colonel of the 1st New Jersey Infantry. During the first 3 years of the Civil War, Torbert acted as an infantry commander, fighting in the campaign of 1862 on the Virginia Peninsula, in the campaigns of 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Nov. 29, 1862. In 1864, he was assigned to command a cavalry division under Gen. Phil Sheridan. Torbert took part in the several cavalry...  

CDV General Lorenzo Thomas

(1804-75) Graduated in the West Point class of 1823. He served in the campaigns against the Florida Seminoles and in the Mexican War. From 1853 to 1861, he served as chief of staff to the commander-in-chief of the U. S. Army, General Winfield Scott. In August 1861, Thomas became adjutant general of the Union army with rank of brigadier general. In 1863 he organized and raised negro troops in the Military Departments of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Full standing view wearing...  

CDV Colonel John Hammond

5th New York Cavalry

Brevet Brigadier General

(1827-89) Born at Crown Point, N.Y., he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. He enlisted on Sept. 17, 1861, as a captain, and was commissioned into the 5th New York Cavalry. He was promoted to major, Sept. 26, 1862; lieutenant colonel, March 19, 1864; colonel, July 3, 1864; and brevet brigadier general, March 13, 1865. He served as a United States Congressman, 1879-83.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Half view in uniform...  

CDV General Henry W. Halleck

(1815-1872) Graduated 3rd in the West Point class of 1839. An assistant professor while still an undergraduate at the Military Academy, he first worked upon the fortifications of New York Harbor, and in 1844 inspected those of France. Upon his return to the U.S., he wrote a Report on the Means of National Defence, which was published by Congress and won him an invitation from the Lowell Institute of Boston to deliver a series of lectures. These were published as Elements of Military Art and Science, a work which enjoyed wide circulation among soldiers for...  

CDV General James B. McPherson

Killed in Atlanta campaign!

(1828-64) Graduated #1 in the West Point class of 1853, a class which included Philip H. Sheridan and John Bell Hood. Eleven years after their graduation, now Confederate general Hood opposed McPherson before Atlanta, and Hood's battle order would result in the death of his old classmate. By the fall of 1862, McPherson had risen to rank of major general. He saw service at Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg. On March 26, 1864, he was given command of the Army of the Tennessee which he led in...  

CDV General John C. Fremont

(1813-90) Known as the "Pathfinder," he played a leading part in the conquest of California. In 1850 he was elected as U.S. Senator from the newly admitted state and in 1856, Fremont was selected as the presidential candidate of the newly formed Republican party. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln appointed him major general in the Regular Army in command of the Department of the West with headquarters at St. Louis. His forces were defeated at the battle of Wilson's Creek, Mo., and he later was sent east to take command of the...  

CDV General William H. French

(1815-81) Graduated in the West Point class of 1837. Fought in the Florida Wars and the Mexican War. Earned the brevets of captain and major for gallantry in Mexico. Appointed brigadier general of volunteers to rank September 28, 1861. He commanded a brigade of the 2nd Corps during the Peninsular campaign, and a division of the corps at Antietam. He also fought in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and commanded the District of Harpers Ferry during the Gettysburg campaign. French commanded the 3rd Corps during the Mine Run...  

CDV Colonel Norton P. Chipman

Brevet Brigadier General

Judge Advocate during the trial of Andersonville Commandant Henry Wirz

(1836-1924) Born in Union County, Ohio, he attended Washington College, and Cincinnati Law School, graduating in 1859. During his professional career he was a lawyer, judge, and U.S. Congressman, 1871-75. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted on May 28, 1861, as a 2nd lieutenant, and was commissioned into the 2nd Iowa Infantry. He was promoted to major, September 23, 1861, and wounded in the thigh on February 15, 1862, during the...  

CDV General George G. Meade

(1815-1872) Graduated in the West Point class of 1835, and won a brevet in the Mexican War. He fought in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign and the Seven Days battles being very severely wounded at Glendale. He recovered in time to see action at 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Elevated to command of the Army of the Potomac, he defeated General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg and went on to fight in all of their battles culminating in the surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Wet plate, albumen carte de...  

CDV General Winfield Scott

(1786-1866) A year older than the Constitution, the venerable Scott, hero of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, became General in chief of the U. S. Army in 1841, a position he still held at the start of the Civil War. A true professional soldier, he was one of the very few men in the country who saw the need to prepare for a major military effort. His Anacondona Plan proved to be very sound. Succeeded by General George B. McClellan in Nov. 1861, he retired to write his memoirs, and died at West Point in 1866 where he is buried. A Virginian, he was the...  

CDV General George B. McClellan

(1826-85) Graduated in the West Point class of 1846 and fought in the Mexican War. Hailed at the beginning of the Civil War as the "Young Napoleon," he proved to be a brilliant military organizer, administrator, and trainer of men, but an officer totally lacking in the essential qualities of successful command of large forces in battle. He saw action at Rich Mountain, W.V., in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign and at the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American history. He was defeated for the presidency in 1864 by Abraham...