Selected Union Generals of the Civil War

01
of 15

Major General Irvin McDowell

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The Union's First Commander - Major General Irvin McDowell. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Leaders in Blue

The Union Army employed hundreds of generals during the Civil War. This gallery provides an overview of several of the key Union generals who contributed to the Union's cause and helped guide its armies to victory.

Irvin McDowell

  • Dates: October 15, 1818-May 10, 1885
  • State: Ohio
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: Army of Northeastern Virginia, I Corps (Army of the Potomac), III (Army of Virginia), Department of the Pacific
  • Principal Battles: First Battle of Bull Run (1861), Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
02
of 15

Major General George B. McClellan

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"The Young Napoleon" - Major General George B. McClellan. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

George B. McClellan

  • Dates: December 3, 1826-October 29, 1885
  • State: Pennsylvania
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: Department of the Ohio, Army of the Potomac
  • Principal Battles: Peninsula Campaign (1862), Antietam (1862)
03
of 15

Major General John Pope

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Major General John Pope. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

John Pope

  • Dates: March 18, 1822-September 23, 1892
  • State: Illinois
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: District of North and Central Missouri, Army of the Mississippi, Army of Virginia, Department of the Northwest
  • Principal Battles: New Madrid (1862), Island No. 10 (1862), Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
04
of 15

Major General Ambrose Burnside

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Major General Ambrose Burnside. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Ambrose Burnside

05
of 15

Major General Joseph Hooker

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Fight'n Joe - Major General Joseph Hooker. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Joseph Hooker

06
of 15

Major General George G. Meade

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Major General George G. Meade. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

George G. Meade

07
of 15

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock

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Hancock the Superb - Major General Winfield S. Hancock. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Winfield Scott Hancock

08
of 15

Major General Henry W. Halleck

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Old Brains - Major General Henry Halleck. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Henry W. Halleck

  • Dates: January 16, 1815-January 9, 1872
  • State: New York
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: Department of the Missouri, Department of the Mississippi, General-in-Chief (all Union armies), Chief of Staff (Union Army)
  • Principal Battles: Corinth (1862)
09
of 15

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant

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Sam Grant - Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Cold Harbor, 1864. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Ulysses S. Grant

10
of 15

Major General Don Carlos Buell

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Major General Don Carlos Buell. Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Don Carlos Buell

  • Dates: March 23, 1818-November 19, 1898
  • State: Ohio
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: Department of the Ohio, Army of the Ohio, Army of the Cumberland
  • Principal Battles: Shiloh (1862), Corinth (1862), Perryville (1862)
11
of 15

Major General William S. Rosecrans

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Old Rosy - Major General William S. Rosecrans. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

William S. Rosecrans

  • Dates: September 6, 1819-March 11, 1898
  • State: Ohio
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: "Right Wing" of the Army of the Mississippi, Army of the Cumberland, Department of the Missouri
  • Principal Battles: West Virginia Campaign (1861), Iuka (1862), Second Corinth (1862), Stones River (1862/3), Chickamauga (1863)
12
of 15

Major General William T. Sherman

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Cump, Uncle Billy - Major General William T. Sherman. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

William Tecumseh Sherman

  • Dates: February 8, 1820-February 14, 1891
  • State: Ohio
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: Department of the Cumberland, XV Corps (Army of the Tennessee), Army of the Tennessee, Military Division of the Mississippi
  • Principal Battles: First Bull Run (1861), Shiloh (1862), Vicksburg (1862/3), Chattanooga (1864), Resaca (1864), Atlanta (1864), March to the Sea (1864), Carolinas Campaign (1865), Bentonville (1865)
13
of 15

Major General George H. Thomas

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The Rock of Chickamauga - Major General George H. Thomas. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

George H. Thomas

  • Dates: July 31, 1816-March 28, 1870
  • State: Virginia
  • Highest Rank Attained: Major General
  • Principal Commands: Right Wing of the Army of Tennessee, Center of the Army of the Cumberland, Army of the Cumberland,
  • Principal Battles: Mill Springs (1862), Shiloh (1862), Corinth (1862), Perryville (1862), Stones River (1862/3), Chickamauga (1863), Chattanooga (1863), Resaca (1864), Franklin (1864), Nashville (1864)
14
of 15

Major General Philip H. Sheridan

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Little Phil. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Philip H. Sheridan

15
of 15

President Abraham Lincoln

President Abraham Lincoln. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

Abraham Lincoln

  • Dates: February 12, 1809-April 15, 1865
  • State: Illinois
  • Highest Rank Attained: President of the United States
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Your Citation
Hickman, Kennedy. "Selected Union Generals of the Civil War." ThoughtCo, Sep. 16, 2020, thoughtco.com/selected-civil-war-union-generals-4063156. Hickman, Kennedy. (2020, September 16). Selected Union Generals of the Civil War. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/selected-civil-war-union-generals-4063156 Hickman, Kennedy. "Selected Union Generals of the Civil War." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/selected-civil-war-union-generals-4063156 (accessed March 19, 2024).