The American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865, and it holds the distinction of being the first modern war, but there’s more to it than that. The conflict saw more American casualties than any other in the nation’s history, and it tore the country apart.

When the Democratic southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, a large number of military officers followed, and they formed the CSA’s military command.

More than 150 years after the conflict came to an end, ten bases throughout the American south still bear the names of some of the Confederacy’s greatest military leaders.

10 Monuments More Controversial Than The Confederate Statues

10 Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia – Ambrose Powell Hill Jr.

Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, was founded in 1941 outside the town of Bowling Green, Virginia. The post was established as an Army training facility, and it remains one to this day. The Fort is primarily used as an arms training center, and it is used by all branches of the military, as well as members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, federal, state, and local law enforcement for weapons training.

The Fort was named in honor of Ambrose Powell Hill, a Confederate General from Virginia, who fought for the United States Army in the Mexican-American and Seminole Wars. He joined the Confederacy when the Civil War began and went on to serve in some of the war’s greatest conflicts. Hill was the commander of the “Light Division,” and one of Stonewall Jackson’s most proficient subordinates.

When Jackson died at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Hill was promoted to Lieutenant General to take command of General Lee’s Third Corps, which he led during the Gettysburg Campaign. He was killed in combat during the Union Army’s push during the Third Battle of Petersburg in 1865, shortly before the war came to a close.^[1]

9 Fort Benning, Georgia – Henry Benning

Fort Benning, Georgia, is the home of the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Armor School, and more. Ft. Benning supports more than 120,000 personnel, their family members, veterans, and support staff, making it a significant Georgian base. The Fort was established to provide Basic Training to Soldiers in 1918.

Fort Benning was named in honor of Henry Benning, the commander of “Benning’s Brigade” during the Civil War. Benning was an opponent of abolition and the emancipation of slaves, which put him strongly in favor of secession following the election of 1860. He served in the U.S. Congress for the Democratic Party in 1851 and remained in politics up to succession, but opted not to serve as a cabinet member in the Confederacy. He instead joined the Confederate Army as a Colonel of the 17th Georgia Infantry in 1861.

Benning attained the rank of Brigadier General, and he led his forces against General Grant during the Overland Campaign. He remained in the fight up to the bitter end. Benning was heartbroken when Confederacy was defeated, and he was one of the last officers to lead his men to the surrender ceremony in April 1865.^[2]

8 Fort Bragg, North Carolina – Braxton Bragg

Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is known as being the largest military installation in the world by population, as it supports 50,000 active-duty personnel at any given time. The Fort is located outside Fayetteville and is the home of the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, US Special Operation Command, and many more units.

The Fort was established in 1918 to train artillery personnel, and it was named in honor of North Carolina native Braxton Bragg. Bragg served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Second Seminole and Mexican-American Wars before joining the Confederacy despite being opposed to secession. He was serving as a Colonel in the Louisiana Militia in 1860, and the following year, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General of the Confederate States Army and given command of forces in Pensacola, Florida.

He served in numerous campaigns throughout the war, including the Battles for Chattanooga, the Battle of Chickamauga, and many more. He became an advisor to President Davis and was one of the people credited with finally convincing him that the Confederacy’s cause was lost, which ultimately led to the surrender of the CSA and the end of the war.^[3]

7 Fort Gordon, Georgia – John Brown Gordon

Fort Gordon, Georgia, was established as Camp Gordon in 1917 as the training grounds for the 82nd Division. It was upgraded to a Fort in 1941 and has since become home of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Cyber Corps, and more.

Camp Gordon was named in honor of John Brown Gordon, a Confederate officer who joined the CSA without any prior military experience. Though he lacked the knowledge of many of his peers, he was elected Captain of the 6th Alamaba Infantry Regiment. By 1862, he was serving as a Colonel, having seen combat at Seven Pines. Gordon had a knack for being wounded, and during the Battle of Antietam, he was hit multiple times in his arm and leg, but he continued to fight while refusing to go to the read. General Lee was impressed by his fortitude, and after he recovered, he was promoted to Brigadier General.

Gordon continued to lead his men up to the end of the war, having charged the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. He officially surrendered his troops soon after, on April 12, 1865. Following the war, he entered politics in strict opposition to Reconstruction. He served as a U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party and served as the 53rd Governor of Georgia.^[4]

6 Fort Hood, Texas – John Bell Hood

Fort Hood, Texas, was founded in January 1942, so the Army could take advantage of the open terrain to test tank destroyers during World War II. Fort Hood is the most populous military base in the world, and it’s also one of the largest by area, as it encompasses 214,000 acres of land. It’s primarily used as an HQ for the III Corps, the 1st Cavalry Division, and other cavalry units.

Fort Hood gets its name from John Bell Hood, a notoriously brave and aggressive officer who was trained at the United States Military Academy. He served only briefly in the U.S. Army before resigning his commission immediately following the Battle of Fort Sumpter, which kicked off the Civil War. The native Kentuckian’s home state was neutral at the time, so he opted to serve in Texas.

Hood was promoted to Colonel in September 1860 and was given command of the 4th Texas Infantry Regiment. He served in numerous battles, including the Battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chicamauga, and many more. He was promoted to General temporarily in July 1864 and eventually returned to the rank of Lieutenant General for the duration of the conflict.^[5]

Top 10 Surprising Confederates

5 Fort Pickett, Virginia – George Pickett

Fort Pickett, Virginia, is a Virginia Army National Guard post situated outside the town of Blackstone. It is the home of the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center, and it was established in 1941 for the purpose of simultaneously training more than one Infantry Division at a time.

Fort Pickett was named in honor of George Pickett, a career U.S. Army officer who served during the Mexican-American War. He continued to serve until he was compelled to resign his commission following the Battle of Fort Sumter. Within a month, he was a Colonel in the Confederate States Army, and by 1862, he was a Brigadier General.

Pickett served in numerous campaigns but is likely best known for the ill-fated “Pickett’s Charge” during the Battle of Gettysburg. He stepped across the line to charge nearly a mile to Cemetery Ridge, shouting, “Up, Men, and to your posts! Let no man forget today that you are from Old Virginia!”^[6] The assault was a bloodbath, and Pickett was all but inconsolable. His division was mostly lost, as well as his subordinate commanders. He remained active in the war and was a member of General Lee’s party during the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.^[7]

4 Fort Rucker, Alabama – Edmund Winchester Rucker

Fort Rucker, Alabama, was opened during World War II to train aviators. These days, it’s home to Army Aviation and is the post where all Army Warrant Officers (Including the writer of this article) train at Warrant Officer Candidate School. The base was named in honor of Confederate General Edmund Rucker when it was officially opened in 1942.^[8]

Edmund Rucker enlisted in the Confederate States Army as a Private soon after the Civil War broke out in 1861. He belonged to Pickett’s Tennessee Company of Sappers and Miners, and he was promoted to Lieutenant by 1862. As he progressed through the ranks, he moved to the Cavalry Batallion and was given command of the 1st East Tennessee Legion, known as Rucker’s Legion,^[9] with the rank of Colonel in 1863.

He eventually gained the rank of Brigadier General, though it was never confirmed by the Confederate Congress. Rucker was wounded in action on several occasions and lost his left arm soon after he was captured. His release was secured through an exchange managed by General Nathon Bedford Forrest, the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

3 Fort Polk, Louisiana – Leonidas Polk

Fort Polk, Louisiana, was originally established as a Camp in 1941 for the Louisiana Maneuvers in anticipation of the U.S. joining World War II. Today, it is home to the Joint Readiness Training Center and various combat units, including the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

The Camp was named in honor of the Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana. He resigned his position with the church to become a Major General in the Confederate Army after personally offering his services to Jefferson Davis, a classmate of his from his time at West Point. Polk committed a significant blunder early in the conflict when he sent troops to Columbus, Kentucky. The state had attempted to remain neutral but ended up requesting federal aid to deal with the occupation. This resulted in Kentucky being effectively ceded to the United States.

Polk commanded troops in the Army of Mississippi and Tennessee, managing to fight in numerous battles. He brought 20,000 men to Georgia while serving as the confederate States Army’s second in command. While scouting outside of Marietta, Georgia, in June 1864, he was spotted by Union Troops, who directed artillery fire at the General, killing him with the third shot.^[0]

2 Camp Beauregard, Louisiana – Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard

Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, was established in 1918 as a training base for the 17th Division in preparation for the United States’ entry into World War I. The Camp is currently operated by the Louisiana Army National Guard, which uses it primarily as one of its main training areas.

Camp Beauregard was named after Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard, a United States Military Academy graduate who served during the Mexican-American War. General Beauregard was the first Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army, and one of the most prominent to arise early in the conflict. He was given the rank of General five months after joining the Confederacy, making him the fifth highest-ranking officer in the CSA. Beauregard commanded his troops to fire the first shots of the Civil War, after his demand that the command at Ft. Sumter surrender to the CSA. For his action, he was known as “The Hero of Fort Sumter,” and he remained popular throughout the war.

General Beauregard survived the war and even though he remained a member of the Democratic Party for the rest of his life, he paradoxically went on to become an advocate for black civil rights and suffrage by supporting the Republican Party. He worked as a railroad executive and was an early promoter of the Louisiana Lottery, which, at the time, was the only legal lottery in the United States.^[11]

1 Fort Lee, Virginia – Robert Edward Lee

Fort Lee, Virginia, was established early in the Civil War as a training camp west of Richmond. It was originally known as Camp Lee, and it grew into a Fort as World War I began intensifying. Today, it is the home of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command, the Army Quartermaster, Ordnance, and Transportation schools.

The Camp was named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Lee was a prominent U.S. military officer who served during the Mexican-American War. He also worked as the superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point, and though he was initially reluctant, as he opposed secession (despite remaining a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party), he resigned his commission to join the Confederate States Army.

General Lee was one of the first to be given the rank of full General, and he was given command of the forces in Western Virginia.

Lee invaded Maryland and was primarily responsible for the push into Gettysburg, which resulted in one of the most significant CSA defeats of the war. From that point, he commanded forces up to the end of the American Civil War, having lost the vast majority of his Army by April 1865.^[12]

10 Ways Things Would Be Different If The Confederate States Had Won

What do a Cherokee chief, best-selling author, Texas Ranger, President of the United States, and Episcopal bishop all have in common? They were all generals in the American Civil War. Many people may have heard of Robert E. Lee or Ulysses S. Grant, but there are far more Civil War generals that have faded into the background.

The bloodiest conflict in United States history and the last major war on the North American continent pitted brother against brother, bringing together an unlikely list of characters whose fame exceeded their actions on the battlefield.

10 Lewis Wallace

Lew Wallace’s military career had its ups and downs, as he served in both the Mexican-American War as well as the Civil War. As one of Ulysses S. Grant’s generals, he was relieved of his command after allegations that he had been late in bringing reinforcements to the Battle of Shiloh in early 1862, claims which he would deny continuously. Later in the war, Wallace would halt Confederate General Jubal Early’s advance toward Washington, D.C., at the Battle of Monocacy, thereby protecting the capital.

His fame apart from the war began in 1878, when he was appointed territorial governor of New Mexico, where he ended the Lincoln County War and personally met with Billy the Kid to offer him amnesty. His final governmental position would be as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which he held from 1881 to 1885.

His lasting fame came, however, from his literary career, most notably his 1880 book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which was well-received both at the time and after that, leading to the 1959 film starring Charlton Heston as well as the 2016 remake.^[1]

9 Lawrence Sullivan Ross

Lawrence Sullivan Ross’s family moved to Texas in 1839 and helped found the town of Waco, where “Sul,” as he was later called, spent much of his childhood. In 1860 he joined the Texas Rangers and assisted in the recovery of Cynthia Ann Parker, the niece of Texas politician Isaac Parker, who had been kidnapped by the Comanche Natives at a young age. After Texas seceded from the Union, he became a Confederate general and served with distinction in the western theater of the Civil War.

After the war, he operated his farm and ranch and became sheriff of Waco from 1873 to 1875, during which time he arrested nearly 700 outlaws. He was then elected a state senator and then governor of Texas. As governor, he focused on land-use reform in beneficial ways to farmers and ranchers, enacted tax-reform measures, and expanded state-sponsored charitable efforts. In 1891, the struggling Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Texas A&M University) asked Ross to step in as its president, where he improved campus facilities and fostered a strong school spirit and tradition which remains to this day.^[2]

8 Jefferson Columbus Davis

Jefferson Columbus Davis was a Union general who shared a name with the Confederate President—Jefferson Finis Davis—and shot and killed a superior officer over a disagreement in 1862. Davis served with distinction in the Mexican-American War and was stationed at Fort Sumter when Confederate forces bombarded it to begin the war. He commanded forces in the western theater of the war before being assigned to Louisville, Kentucky, under General William “Bull” Nelson. The trouble began here, as Nelson and Davis immediately disliked each other, with Nelson relieving Davis and sending him away.

Unfortunately for “Bull,” Davis was reassigned to Louisville. When he arrived and reported to Nelson, the two insulted one another and exchanged blows, after which Davis retrieved a pistol from a friend and shot General Nelson, who died within a half-hour. Davis was arrested but was soon released because of the army’s need for officers. He went on to serve throughout the remainder of the war, suffering no legal repercussions regarding the shooting but gaining fame and notoriety ever after.^[3]

7 Benjamin McCulloch

Born in Tennessee in 1811, Benjamin McCulloch was a friend of frontiersman and eventual U.S. Senator Davy Crockett, who compelled McCulloch to ride to Texas to participate in the Texas Revolution in 1836. He served in the Battle of San Jacinto, which won the war for Texas, and then served as an Indian fighter with the Texas Rangers. He repelled Mexican raids into South Texas and fought in the Mexican-American War under future U.S. President Zachary Taylor.

Between the Mexican War and the Civil War, McCulloch’s exploits included becoming a gold prospector in California, also known as “49ers,” and negotiating peace with Brigham Young in Utah (LINK 18). After Texas’s secession in 1861, McCulloch was made a brigadier general and raised a significant army in Texas, which was successful in the western theater until his death at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas.^[4]

6 James A. Garfield

Eventually elected the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield was first a Union general with many other distinctions. From humble origins in Ohio, Garfield became an educated man and a noted abolitionist. He became a general in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving notably in Tennessee until 1863, when he became U.S. representative for Ohio.

A Radical Republican, Garfield supported Reconstruction measures and was influential in financial decisions, strongly supporting anti-inflation and the gold standard. In addition to his congressional career, Garfield had a significant interest in mathematics, and in 1876 he published a well-reviewed proof of the Pythagorean theorem.

He defeated fellow Union general Winfield Scott Hancock in the 1880 presidential election and pushed reform during his time in office, including civil rights for former slaves. In 1881, however, Charles Guiteau shot the president, who had previously refused him a political office. Despite an initial recovery, infection from doctors’ hands eventually killed Garfield. He was only in office for about 200 days— March 4, 1881 to September 19, 1881.^[5]

5 John C. Breckinridge

From a prominent Kentucky family which included Thomas Jefferson’s attorney general, John C. Breckinridge was an affluent politician in the years preceding the Civil War. He studied law at Princeton and graduated from Transylvania University, later being elected to the Kentucky state legislature in 1849. A states’ rights Democrat, he was then quickly elected to the U.S. House as a representative for Kentucky, where he gained notice as a solid party-line voter.

In 1856, Breckinridge was selected as the running mate for James Buchanan’s successful presidential bid, becoming the youngest vice president ever at 36. When Abraham Lincoln, head of the newly-founded Republican Party, ran for president in 1860, the Democrats were split in nominating his contender, with Southern states nominating Breckinridge and Northerners preferring Stephen Douglas.

Regardless, Lincoln was elected president, and Breckinridge accepted a Senate seat, which he quickly resigned as his sympathies lay with the new Confederacy, where he was given a generalship. He dealt with his struggles throughout the war, not being a professional military man, and had a bitter rivalry with fellow general Braxton Bragg. He survived the war but died of cirrhosis in 1875.^[6]

4 George B. McClellan

Like Breckinridge, George Brinton McClellan also lost a presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln, though it was four years later in 1864. Before that, McClellan was a career military man, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and acting as an observer during the Crimean War. After the poor showing of the Union Army at the First Battle of Manassas in 1861, Winfield Scott resigned his position as General-in-Chief, which was given to McClellan by Abraham Lincoln.

McClellan proved to be very adept at training and organization and can be credited with massively improving the Union Army, but his battlefield legacy would haunt his career. With a reputation for being overly cautious, he was blamed for failing to make any headway against Confederate forces and was replaced by Henry W. Halleck after the Seven Days Battles in 1862.

As mentioned above, 1864’s presidential election saw McClellan running against Lincoln on a campaign to end the war by negotiating with the Confederacy. However, he lost by a considerably wide margin. After the war, he was elected governor of New Jersey and spent the rest of his post-official life defending his wartime legacy.^[7]

3 Stand Watie

A general with the twofold distinction of being the last Confederate general to surrender as well as the only general on either side with Native American ancestry, Stand Watie was born with the name Degadoga (meaning “He Stands”) on Cherokee land in Georgia. He was active in tribal politics as one of four chiefs who signed the Treaty of New Echota, which traded traditional Cherokee land in Georgia for new land which would become the Cherokee Nation in modern-day Oklahoma. The result was the “Trail of Tears” and a lifelong rivalry with disagreeing factions led notably by Chief John Ross, who executed the other signers of the treaty, with Watie escaping.

When the Civil War broke out, Watie joined the Confederate Army, eventually reaching the rank of brigadier general, fighting mostly in the Arkansas, Louisiana, and Indian Territory. Watie was the last Confederate general to surrender to the Union in June of 1865 and was later a delegate to the re-negotiation of treaties with the United States in September 1865. The character of Lone Watie in Clint Eastwood’s 1976 film The Outlaw Josey Wales is loosely based on Stand Watie.^[8]

2 George Crook

After his service in the Civil War, George Crook was a storied general of the Old West. He graduated from West Point in 1852 and saw action throughout the Civil War, notably under Philip Sheridan in the Valley Campaign of 1864. His real fame, however, began after the war when he was detached to the west to address problems with several Native American tribes. He led expeditions against the Sioux in the mid-1870s, which included his defeat at the Battle of the Rosebud in 1876, whose outcome may have decided George Custer’s fate at Little Bighorn.

Crook returned to Arizona in 1881 to fight the Apache tribe largely led by famed warrior Geronimo. Nicknamed the “Tan Wolf” by Apache, he was considered a strong enemy with respect for his adversary. While in pursuit, Crook went off alone hunting for food, where he came face-to-face with Geronimo and his warriors, who did not attack but came to discuss peace terms, which Crook negotiated fairly.

Unfortunately for Crook, Geronimo violated the terms of surrender, which necessitated Crook bringing him back once again. Shortly after, Crook lost his post. He spent his final years trying to ensure the U.S. government would keep its word concerning Indian treaties, which was noticed by his former enemy Chief Red Cloud, who said, “He never lied to us. His words gave my people hope”.^[9]

1 Leonidas Polk

Leonidas Polk’s career began and ended martially, graduating from West Point in 1827 and dying from a cannonball shot during the Atlanta Campaign as a Confederate general in 1864. But in between, his time was spent not in the barracks but at the pulpit as an Episcopal priest and later bishop.

In 1838 he was appointed Missionary Bishop of the Southwest and later Bishop of Louisiana in 1841. His life’s work culminated in 1860 when he broke ground for the new University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, which stands to this day). When the South seceded in 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, an old friend, convinced Polk to accept a generalship in the Confederate Army.

As a general, he was well-liked by his men, but not by his superior, General Braxton Bragg, who felt his quality as a military leader was lacking. Polk was positioned between Sherman and Atlanta in 1864 when a volley of cannon fire ended his life just four years before the opening of his university.^[10]