By : Keshaughn Mosley

Famous Soldiers

Jefferson Davis

Born in Kentucky not far from Abraham Lincoln in time or distance, the only President of the Confederacy was a decorated war veteran and politician. He graduated West Point in 1828 and married the daughter of Zachary Taylor in 1835. She died shortly thereafter.

In 1845 Davis married Varian Howell, the daughter of a Mississippi aristocrat and plantation owner. He successfully ran for the U. S. House of Representatives, only to resign in 1846 to join his former father-in-law in Texas preparing for the Mexican-American War. Leading a regiment from Mississippi, Davis held his position at Buena Vista thanks to some expert artillery work by a young captain named Braxton Bragg, saving Zachary Taylor from defeat.

Ulysses s. Grant• Today is the birthday of U.S.

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. He was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Grant’s career is an American success story. Entering the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1839, he would graduate 21st of 39 cadets in the class of 1843. After graduating he would serve in the Mexican-American War and would receive two brevet promotions during the war. After the war he would be transferred several times with the Regular Army before resigning his captain’s commission in July 1854.

Robert E. leeThe son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III and a top graduate of the United States Military Academy, Robert E. Lee distinguished himself as an exceptional officer and combat engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War, served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, and married Mary Cutis.

Abraham Lincoln • Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

was the sixteenth president of the United States during one of the most consequential periods in American history, the Civil War. Before being elected president, Lincoln served in the Illinois legislature and lost an election for the U.S. Senate to Stephen A. Douglas. Nevertheless, his fierce campaign earned him a nomination for the presidency. The first Republican president ever, Lincoln led the Union to victory in the Civil War and ended slavery in America.

William Carney• Carney was born simply as "William," as a slave

in Norfolk, Virginia February 29, 1840, but escaped to Massachusetts like his father through the Underground Railroad. They later bought the rest of the family out of slavery. Once William escaped from slavery and joined the Massachusetts Regiment, he met a white man named William Carney. The white William Carney was from New Jersey and served for the Cumberland Grays in the Civil War. Both the white and black Williams met, and the white William gave the black William his last name so he could serve in the 54th.

• Carney served with the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as a Sergeant and took part in the July 18, 1863, assault on Fort Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina. He received his medal for saving the American flag and planting it on the parapet and although wounded, holding it while the troops charged. But recognizing the Federal troops had to retreat under fire, Carney struggled back across the battlefield, and although wounded twice more, returned the flag to the Union lines. Before turning over the colors to another survivor of the 54th, Carney modestly said, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!"[2]

Phillip Bazaar• In the latter part of 1864, Union General Ulysses

S. Grant ordered an assault on Fort Fisher, a stronghold of the Confederate States of America. It protected the vital trading routes of Wilmington's port, at North Carolina. Rear Admiral Porter was in charge of the naval assault and General Benjamin F. Butler was in charge of the land assault. After the failure of the first assault, Butler was replaced by Major General Alfred Terry. A second assault was ordered for January 1865. Bazaar was aboard the USS Santiago de Cuba and served in both assaults on the fort. On January 12, 1865, both ground and naval Union forces attempted the second assault. Bazaar and 5 other crew members, under the direct orders from Rear Admiral Porter, carried dispatches during the battle while under heavy fire from the Confederates to Major General Alfred Terry. Bazaar and his comrades were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions.