General Philip H. Sheridan– most famous for his destructive Shenandoah Valley campaign in 1864, a major Union victory and turning point in the war. Sheridan became commanding general of the Army in 1883 and general of the Army of the United States (the nation’s highest military rank) on June 1, 1888, about two months prior to his death. General Sheridan received the first full military honors burial ceremony at Arlington, and his funeral helped to elevate the cemetery to national prominence. The monument at his gravesite shown below is a granite Egyptian-style obelisk — similar to the Washington Monument, also completed in 1888. The cast bronze bas-relief sculpture, featuring a bust of Sheridan, is considered one of the most important works by English sculptor Samuel J. Kitson. (Grave S-1)

Major General John L. Clem– In May 1861, when President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to join the Union Army, 10-year-old Johnny Clem tried to enlist in an Ohio regiment. He was turned away as too young, but he had better luck in Michigan, where the 22nd Infantry Regiment accepted him as a drummer boy. He officially enlisted in 1863, at 12 years old. During the Battle of Chickamauga, he shot a Confederate officer who was ridiculing his diminutive stature. Promoted to sergeant, the “Drummer Boy of Chickamauga” became the youngest soldier ever to become a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army. When he retired on the eve of U.S. entry into World War I, at the rank of major general, Clem was the last Civil War veteran actively serving in the Army. (Grave 933)

Brigadier General August Valentine Kautz– At the outbreak of the Civil War Kautz was a captain in the 6th United States Regular Cavalry, and served in the defenses of Washington and in the Peninsula Campaign. In September 1862 he was promoted to colonel and commander of the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and sent to Ft. Scott in Kansas. From April 1864 until March 1865 he commanded a division of cavalry in the Army of the James, having been promoted to Brigadier General, US Volunteers on May 7, 1864. In March 1865 he took command of a Division of Colored Troops in the XXV Corps, and was at its head when it entered Richmond on April 3, 1865. In April and May he was one of the commissioners who tried the conspirators who killed President Lincoln. After receiving brevets of Major General in both the Regular and Volunteer armies, he continued his service in the United States Army after the war.

Major General Julius Stahel– born in Szeged, Hungary, he moved to New York City in 1859. When the War began, he helped organize the 8th New York Volunteer Infantry and became the regiment’s Colonel. He commanded the regiment in the first battle of Manassas and was promoted Brigadier General in November 1861. In 1862, he commanded a division at the second battle of Manassas and took charge of the Union cavalry at Fairfax in March 1863. He was transferred to the Department of West Virginia, in March 1864, as General Franz Sigel’s chief of cavalry and chief of staff. At the Battle of Piedmont, June 5, 1864, after repelling two Confederate attacks, General Stahel played a conspicuous role in the victory. He personally led his dismounted troopers in support the infantry, was hit by a bullet in the left shoulder, then led his mounted men in the decisive charge which routed the Confederates and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor. Due to his wounds, he was temporarily relieved of command and served on court martial boards until he resigned in February 1865, at the rank of Major General.

Major General John Gibbon– though 3 of his brothers enlisted in the Confederate Army when the war began, he remained with the Union. He had written the basic “Artillerist’s Manual”, published by the War Department in 1860, and because of his qualifications Brigadier General Irvin McDowell made him chief of artillery in October 1861. However, when he became a Brigadier General of Volunteers himself, on May 2, 1862, he was given a brigade of 1 Indiana and 3 Wisconsin regiments. To bolster their morale he had them distinctively outfitted with tall black felt hats and white gaiters, and they became known as the Black Hat Brigade. A few months later, at South Mountain, thanks to a compliment from Major General Joseph Hooker, it became known as the Iron Brigade. He went on to divisional command in Major General John F. Reynolds’ I Corps. He was wounded at the December 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, and returned to lead the 2nd Division of Major General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps. Wounded again at Gettysburg, he commanded briefly the draft depots at Philadelphia and Cleveland. He returned to his division in time to fight through all the battles of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign. He was promoted to Major General, US Volunteers on June 7, 1864. By January 1865 he was commanding the XXIV Corps and at Appomattox was one of the commissioners who received the surrender of General Robert E. Lee’s army.

Major General Edward Ord– He was present at the Capture of John Brown at Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and defeated Jeb Stuart at the Battle of Dranesville. Ord was promoted to the rank of major general of volunteers and, after briefly serving in the Department of the Rappahannock, was assigned command of the 2nd Division of the Army of the Tennessee. Major General Ulysses S. Grant sent Ord with a detachment of two divisions along with Major General William Rosecrans forces to intercept Sterling Price at Iuka, MS. Due to a possible acoustic shadow or confusion regarding orders Ord’s forces were never engaged and Rosecrans fought alone. Ord was wounded at the Battle of Hatchie’s Bridge and had to leave field command for a short time. When Grant relieved Major General John McClernand from his command, Ord took over that command during the final days of the Siege of Vicksburg. He fought in the Shenandoah and assumed command of the Army of the James in 1865. He lead that Army in the campaigns that culminated in the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. When the surrender ceremony was complete, Ord purchased as a souvenir, for $40, the marble-topped table at which Lee had sat. It now resides in the Chicago Historical Society’s Civil War Room. Fort Ord (in California) is named for him.

Brevet Major General Hiram Berdan– A mechanical engineer living in New York City at the start of the war, he had been ranked the top amateur rifle shot in the nation since 1846. Eager to promote himself, several ideas for inventions, and his views on weapons development, he wrote Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. He proposed to Stanton the organization of a corps of picked marksmen to be selected from the Northern states and armed with the best rifles. Such troops, he wrote, would be invaluable as sharpshooters and skirmishers. Stanton quickly approved the proposal. He was commissioned Colonel of the 1st Regiment on November 30, 1861. The marksmen that he recruited would be known as Berdan’s Sharpshooters. Each man he recruited was able to place ten consecutive shots inside a 10-inch circle, firing from a distance of 200 yards without the benefit of telescopic sights. They were designated the 1st and 2nd United States Sharpshooters. The regiment did valuable service throughout the Peninsula Campaign and at Malvern Hill and was heavily engaged at Chancellorsville, and at Gettysburg. Before the war he patented a repeating rifle and rifle ball; later he worked on inventing “a submarine gunboat,” a range finder, an artillery fuse, and a torpedo boat. He was Brevetted Brigadier General for service at Chancellorsville and Major General after the Battle of Gettysburg. He resigned his commission on January 2, 1864, to pursue other interests.

Major General George Crook– when the Civil War broke out, Crook accepted a commission as Colonel of the 36th Ohio and led it in western Virginia. While commanding the 3rd Brigade he was wounded at Lewisburg. He returned to command his regiment when they were part of John Pope’s headquarters escort at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Crook commanded the 2nd Brigade, Kanawha Division at the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam. He was promoted to brigadier general on September 7, 1862. Following Antietam, he assumed command of the Kanawha Division. His division was detached from the IX Corps for duty in the Department of the Ohio. Before long Crook was assigned to command an infantry brigade in the Army of the Cumberland, which he led at the Battle of Hoover’s Gap. In July he assumed command of the 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps in the Army of the Cumberland fighting at the Battle of Chickamauga. In February 1864, he returned to command the Kanawha Division, which was now designated the 3rd Division of the Department of West Virginia. At the start of Grant’s 1864 spring campaign he was ordered to destroy the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad at Dublin, Virginia, and the Confederate salt works at Saltville, Virginia. When these actions were accomplished, he was to march east and join forces with Major General Franz Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley. Crook sent a force under Brigadier General William Averell towards Saltville, then moved on towards Dublin where he defeated Brigadier General Albert Jenkins at the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain and destroyed part of the railroad at Dublin. Crook with supplies running low returned to his base at Meadow Bluff, West Virginia. In July he assumed command of a small force called the Army of the Kanawha and was defeated at the Second Battle of Kernstown. Crook’s army was absorbed into Sheridan’s Army of the Shenandoah. Crook led his corps in the Valley Campaign of 1864 at Third Winchester, Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek. On October 21, 1864, he was promoted to major general of volunteers. In February 1865 he was captured by Confederate raiders at Cumberland, Maryland and held as a prisoner of war until exchanged a month later. He briefly returned to command the Department of West Virginia until he led a cavalry division in the Army of the Potomac fighting at battle of Dinwiddie Court House, and the battles of Five Forks, Amelia Springs, Sailor’s Creek and Appomattox Court House. (Grave 974)

Brigadier General Samuel Sturgis– A graduate of the West Point Class of 1846, he graduated 32nd of 59 graduates. During the Civil War, he fought at Fort Smith, Fort Leavenworth, Wilson’s Creek, Antietam, Fredericksburg. and Brice’s Crossroads. He was appointed Brigadier General, US Volunteers, at Wilson’s Creek for his coolness and valor, taking command at the critical moment when General Nathaniel Lyon was killed. Twice brevetted to Brigadier General and once to Major General. On June 10, 1864, he was severely defeated by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest at Brice’s Crossroads, Mississippi, and his career suffered for it. A Board of Inquiry was critical of his performance during that battle.

Major General Joseph Mower– In 1855 he entered the Regular Army as a 2nd Lieutenant of infantry. A few months after the outbreak of the Civil War, he was promoted to Captain in his regiment, the 9th Infantry. He proved adept at regimental, brigade, division, and corps command. From March 1862 till early 1864 he received praise in a dozen reports by his superiors, winning 5 brevets during the war for gallantry in the Regular service, including that of Major General, the full grade of which he obtained in the volunteers on August 12, 1864. As Colonel of the 11th Missouri Infantry early in May 1862, he fought at Iuka, and Corinth. In the last battle he was wounded and taken prisoner, escaping from his guards only to be recaptured and held till paroled. He then received a brigade in the XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee, which he led throughout the Vicksburg Campaign. In 1864 he participated in the Red River Campaign in Louisiana, performing notably during the attack on Fort De Russy on March 14. At Yellow Bayou, 2 months later, he protected the rear of Major General Nathaniel P. Bank’s army. Elevated to division command soon afterward, he took part in opposing Sterling Price’s Missouri Raid, then accompanied Major General William T. Sherman on his March to the Sea. Winning Sherman’s praise several times during that operation, he rose to command the XX Corps as it began the Carolinas Campaign early in 1865.

Major General Lovell Rousseau– at the beginning of the Civil War was appointed Colonel of the 5th Kentucky Volunteers and promoted Brigadier General in October, 1861. He took part in the battles of Shiloh and Perryville where for his bravery he was promoted Major General. In the command of the 5th Division of the Army of the Cumberland, he served in the battles of Stone River, Chattanooga, Chickamauga and the Alabama campaign. In 1864, he had command of the districts of Nashville, Tennessee until he resigned in November, 1865. After the war, he was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress serving from 1865 to 1866.

Colonel Wheelock Graves Veazey– was awarded the Medal of Honor while Colonel and commander of the 16th Vermont Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. He assembled his regiment (who had never been in combat before) during Pickett’s Charge, and charged into a Confederate brigade, which the Vermonters repulsed with great enemy losses.

Lieutenant General John Schofield– a Union general in the Civil War, he also served as Secretary of War under Presidents Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant. He later served as Commanding General of the United States Army (1888-1895). At the start of the Civil War, Schofield became a major in the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment and served as chief of staff to Major General Nathaniel Lyon until Lyon’s death during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in August 1861. Schofield acted with “conspicuous gallantry” during the battle, and later received the Medal of Honor. He was promoted to Brigadier General of volunteers on November 21, 1861. From 1861 to 1863 he held various commands in the Trans-Mississippi Theater and was promoted to Major General of volunteers on November 29, 1862, at the age of 31, making him one of the youngest major generals in the Civil War. In October 1862, the department commander Samuel Curtis created the Army of the Frontier with Schofield in command. He was later relieved of duty in the West, at his own request. From April 17, to May 10, 1863, Schofield led the 3rd Division of the XIV Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. He subsequently returned to Missouri as commander of the Department of Missouri from May 1863, to January 1864. In 1864, as commander of the Army of the Ohio Schofield participated in the Atlanta Campaign under Major General William Sherman. Sherman, after the fall of Atlanta, took the majority of his forces on the March to the Sea through Georgia. Schofield’s Army of the Ohio was detached to join Major General George Thomas in Tennessee. When Confederate General John Bell Hood invaded Tennessee and nearly cut off Schofield’s command at Spring Hill, Hood’s rash assault against Schofield at the subsequent Battle of Franklin resulted in a significant defeat. On December 15–16, Schofield took part in Thomas’s victory at the Battle of Nashville, where Hood’s forces were decisively defeated, and effectively destroyed as a fighting force for the remainder of the war. For his service at Franklin he was awarded the rank of brigadier general in the regular army on November 30, 1864, and the brevet rank of major general on March 13, 1865. Ordered to operate with Sherman in North Carolina, Schofield moved his corps by rail and sea to Fort Fisher, North Carolina. He occupied Wilmington on February 22, after the fall of the fort, fought in the Battle of Kinston on March 10, and on March 23, joined Sherman at Goldsboro. (Grave 1108)

Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes– U.S. Navy (1798–1877) — Known for his skill with navigational instruments, Wilkes commanded the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842 which mapped large portions of the northwest American coast, the Pacific and Antarctica. Wilkes’s Civil War service is remembered for his involvement in the Trent Affair. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was assigned to command the USS San Jacinto. As part of these duties, he visited the British colony of Bermuda in 1861. Wilkes learned that James Mason and John Slidell, two Confederate commissioners (to Britain and France, respectively), were bound for England on the British RMS Trent. Commanding the San Jacinto he fired two shots across the bow of the RMS Trent, forcing it to stop. A party from the San Jacinto boarded the Trent and arrested Mason and Slidell, a violation of British neutrality. The diplomats were taken to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. He was officially thanked by Congress “for his brave, adroit and patriotic conduct”. However, his action was later disavowed by President Lincoln due to diplomatic protests by the British government (Mason and Slidell were released). His next service was in the James River flotilla and he was placed on the retired list on December 21, 1861. Subsequently, after reaching the rank of commodore on July 16, 1862, he was assigned to duty against blockade runners in the West Indies. (Grave 1164)

William Augustus Brown– Major, 176th Ohio Infantry. Lieutenant Colonel U. S. Volunteers.

Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur– U.S. Army (1845–1912) — After the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), President William McKinley appointed MacArthur as military governor of the occupied Philippines. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Chattanooga Campaign (1863) of the Civil War. He was the father of Douglas MacArthur, the five-star general and World War II hero. (Grave 856)

Major General Philip Kearny, U.S. Army (1815–1862) —  During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Civil War (1861-1865), Kearny’s fearless character in battle earned him the nickname “Kearny the Magnificent.” In the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Kearny led a daring cavalry charge at the Battle of Churubusco and suffered a wound to his left arm, which was later amputated. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Kearny returned to the Army in spite of his disability. He was killed in action on September 1, 1862, at the Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly). Kearny was originally buried at Trinity Church in his native New York, but in 1911 his remains were re-interred at Arlington. The bronze equestrian statue commemorates Kearny’s lifelong association with cavalry troops. Sculptor Edward Clark Potter, best known for the marble lions in front of the New York Public Library, designed the monument. It is one of two equestrian statues in the cemetery; the other honors Sir John Dill. (grave S-8)