Charles River Editors

The Top 5 Greatest Civil War Generals Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures and maps of battles.
*Includes a bibliography of every general.
With the exception of George Washington, perhaps the most famous general in American history is Robert E. Lee, despite the fact he led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia against the Union in the Civil War. His most famous subordinate, Stonewall Jackson, is one of the most famous generals of the war, but it's still unclear whether that was a compliment for standing strong or an insult for not moving his brigade, but the nickname stuck for the brigade and the general itself.
While all eyes were fixed on the Eastern theater at places like Manassas, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley and Antietam, Ulysses S. Grant went about a steady rise up the ranks through a series of successes in the West. Grant eventually came east to face Lee in 1864.
Synonymous with barbarity in the South, William Tecumseh Sherman is lauded as a war hero in the North, and modern historians consider him the harbinger of total war. Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was "the first modern general."
While there is a never ending stream of acclaim going to generals like Grant, Lee, and Sherman, General George H. Thomas has managed to fly under the radar. Thomas scored almost inconceivable successes at Missionary Ridge, Franklin, and Nashville. Thomas also skillfully fought at Perryville, Stones River, and in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, but he's best remembered as "The Rock of Chickamauga." Thomas' heroics prevented the destruction of the Union army at that battle and allowed it to successfully retreat to Chattanooga.