Robert E. Lee: Abraham Lincoln asked Robert E. Lee to lead the Union Army. Even though Lee did not particularly like slavery, he felt that he had to be loyal to his home state of Virginia, which was seceding. Lee became the head of the Confederate Army and a key advisor to Jefferson Davis. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant on April 9, 1865, ending the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln was elected President in 1860. Southern people were upset because Lincoln was anti- slavery and they did not want a president who openly opposed slavery. This is one of the final events that caused the south to secede (break away) from the United States. In 1863 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves. This event helped prevent the French or British from helping the south. The south refused to free their slaves and the French and British, who had been supportive of the south in trying to gain their independence, were completely opposed to slavery.
On April 15, 1865 (6 days after the war officially ended), Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. To learn more about Lincoln, read the FreedomFlix book.
On April 15, 1865 (6 days after the war officially ended), Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. To learn more about Lincoln, read the FreedomFlix book.
Jefferson Davis: Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America in 1861 and remained the president throughout the Civil War. You can read more about Jefferson Davis here. |
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson: Confederate General:At the First Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861, otherwise known as the First Battle of Manassas, that Jackson earned his famous nickname, Stonewall. When Jackson charged his army ahead to bridge a gap in the defensive line against a Union attack, General Barnard E. Bee, impressed, exclaimed, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall." Afterward, the nickname stuck, and Jackson was promoted to major general for his courage and quick thinking on the battlefield. Jackson died of a wound he received at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1864. When he died General Lee said, "I know not how to replace him."