The People

Most people have heard of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and perhaps a few other major figures from the era of the War Between the States. But what about the legion of other statesmen and soldiers, as well as inventors, theologians, slaves, industrial captains, spies, poets, musicians, artists, and common everyday folk that distinguished that unforgettable era? They comprise one of the most fascinating rosters of individuals ever found in one generation. Our new book brings them to life for you through nearly 100 biographical sketches so vivid they will help illumine the entire age and the issues that marked it.

Clara Barton – famed Northern nurse and founder of the American Red Cross.

Robert L. Dabney – Stonewall Jackson’s Chief of Staff, who was compared to Jonathan Edwards as a philosopher, Charles Spurgeon as a preacher, and John Calvin as a theologian.

Thomas Nast – fiery, German-born Harper’s Weekly political cartoonist and artist who invented the modern American character of Santa Claus.

John Jasper – who preached for 25 years as a slave and 39 more as a free man and delivered some of the most powerful sermons in American history.

Rose O’Neal Greenhow – beautiful Confederate spy who moved among the highest echelons of Washington society and politics before being martyred at sea.

Jay Gould – Brilliant New Yorker and archetypal “Robber Baron,” whose scheme to corner the entire American gold market triggered the 1869 Black Friday Stock Market crash and the depression that followed.

Raphael Semmes – more than fifty years old and captain of the legendary C.S.S. Alabama, which hunted Federal ships in every ocean on earth.

Harriet Tubman – Courageous woman who escaped from slavery, then helped lead the Underground Railroad effort to transport other escaped slaves north to Canada.

George Armstrong Custer – The Federals’ dashing “Boy General,” whose fearless leadership in battle led to his legendary cavalry exploits following the war, culminating in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Santos Benavides – South Texas business and political leader who became the war’s highest-ranking Hispanic officer.

Margaret Junkin Preston – Pennsylvania-born “Poetess of the Confederacy” and sister-in-law of Stonewall Jackson; Longfellow considered her one of America’s great poets.

Clement Vallandigham – Best-known of the Northern “Copperheads,” this eloquent Ohio Congressman was jailed, then exiled by President Lincoln because he opposed not the Union, but the war.

Stand Watie – Cherokee Chief who was the only American Indian general of the war; he bedeviled Federal armies all over the West and was the last Confederate general to surrender.

Varina Davis – Wise and beautiful wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who doggedly fought for his release from solitary prison confinement after the war.

Hiram Revels – Devout and eloquent minister who became the first black United States Senator. He fought for the rights of blacks and Southern whites alike during Reconstruction.

Matthew Brady – The most famous and innovative photographer in American history, his shots from the battlefield and home front alike comprise the preeminent gallery of the war.