Civil War Generals

During the American Civil War, 1,008 men wore the rank of "General". The North and South each had different levels of rank within the rank of "General".

Union Civil War Generals

583 Union soldiers wore the rank of "General".

For the majority of the Civil War there were only two ranks of General in the Union Army, Brigadier General and Major General. In 1864 the rank of Lieutenant General was reactivated and was awarded to Ulysses S. Grant.

The three grades of General were distinguished by their insignia: one star for Brigadier General, two stars for Major General, and three stars for Lieutenant General.

The most widely known Union Generals of the Civil War include Ulysses S. Grant, George G. Meade, and Joshua L. Chamberlain.

Confederate Civil War Generals

425 Confederate soldiers wore the rank of "General".

The most widely known Confederate Generals of the Civil War include Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and James Longstreet.

As of 1862, the Confederate Army had four ranks of General: Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General and Full General.

Each Confederate General wore three stars with a wreath around it to signify their rank.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee chose to wear the rank of Colonel during the Civil War, which is was 3 stars without the wreath.

Some speculate that Lee wore the three stars in a gesture of his famous modesty. Another explanation is that three stars had been in the U.S. Army the appropriate insignia for a lieutenant general – a rank that only two men had held: Lee’s idol George Washington and his mentor Winfield Scott.

Robert E. Lee was one of the first five full generals of Confederate Army.

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