FRONTIER LEGENDS

Soldiers & Officers in American History

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• William "Bloody Bill" Anderson (1839-1864) - Best known as one of Quantrill's Raiders, Anderson fought for the Confederates during the Civil War.

• James Bowie (1796-1836) - An aggressive frontiersman, pioneer, explorer, and commander of the volunteers at the Alamo, where he died.

• Buffalo Soldiers - Though African Americans have fought in various military conflicts since colonial days, they did not receive the nickname of "Buffalo Soldiers” until they began to battle Cheyenne warriors in 1867. 

• Benjamin Brown (1859-1910) - Buffalo Soldier who fought bandits in the Wham Paymaster Robbery and awarded the Medal of Honor.

• John Brown (1800-1859) - Abolitionist who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end all slavery. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas and made his name in the unsuccessful raid at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

• Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868) - Carson was a daring and brave explorer, mountain man, trapper, scout, soldier, and buffalo hunter.

• David Crockett (1786-1836) - Frontiersman, explorer, and American folk hero, Crockett a represented Tennessee in the U.S. Congress, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the age of 49 at the Battle of the Alamo.

• George Crook (1828-1890) - General Sherman said the greatest Indian fighter of them all was General Crook, who finished near the bottom of his West Point class.

• Thomas Ewing, Jr(1829-1896) - Military officer, Free-State advocate and first Chief Justice of the State of Kansas

• Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) - A wealthy plantation owner, Forrest distinguished himself in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

• John Charles Fremont (1813-1890) - Was an explorer, military officer, and politician who led multiple surveying expeditions through the western territory of the United States.

• Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) - An American General and the eighteenth President of the United States, he achieved international fame as the leading Union general in the Civil War, capturing Vicksburg in 1863 and Richmond in 1865. He accepted the surrender of his Confederate opponent Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House.

• Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909) - A career U.S. Army officer who made peace with Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise and made efforts to distribute land to African-Americans.

• Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863) - A Confederate general during the Civil War, Jackson was the most revered Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee. He is most famous for his audacious Valley Campaign of 1862 and as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee. His own troops accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville and he died of complications from an amputated arm and pneumonia several days later.

• Charles Ransford Jennison (1834-1884) - A physician, soldier, and anti-slavery Jayhawker.

• James Henry Lane, aka: "The Grim Chieftain," Bloody Jim (1814-1866) - Principal leader of anti-slavery forces in Kansas during the Kansas-Missouri Border War and the Civil War.

• Lane's Brigade, aka: Kansas Brigade (1861) - Described as little more than a mob of thieves and adventurers, these troops went on a looting and burning rampage in western Missouri in the summer and fall of 1861, in the end entirely destroying the city of Osceola, Missouri.

• Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) -  Lee was a career U.S. Army officer and the most celebrated general of the Confederate forces during the Civil War.

• Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) - Explorer, soldier, and public administrator, Lewis was best known for his role as the leader of the Corps of Discovery, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.

• Isaiah Mays (1858-1925) - Buffalo Soldier who fought bandits in the Wham Paymaster Robbery and awarded the Medal of Honor.

• George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885) - Serving in the Mexican War, McClellan became a Major General during the Civil War, in which he organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army.

• Nelson Appleton Miles (1839-1925) - A career soldier, Miles served in the Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.

• Colonel James Montgomery (1814-1871) - A Free-state leader during the Kansas-Missouri Border War, and a Colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War. 

• Frank Joshua North (1840-1885) - Best known for his organization of a group of Pawnee scouts, North was instrumental in the Indian Wars, protecting the wagon trails and later, the railroad crews during the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

• William C. Quantrill (1837-1865) - A guerilla fighter for the Confederate Forces, active in Kansas-Missouri border war.

• Pottawatomie Rifles (1855) - A group of about one hundred abolitionist men formed to fight during the Kansas-Missouri Border War.

• Sterling Price, aka: "Old Pap" (1809-1867)  - A lawyer, politician, and general from Missouri, ahe fought in the Mexican-American War and for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

• Marcus A. Reno - (1834-1889) - A career military officer in the Civil War and the Black Hills War against the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne, Reno is most noted for his role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

• William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) - A career military man, Sherman served in the Civil War before becoming an Indian Fighter.

• Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888) - A career military officer, Sheridan served in the Civil War becoming a Union General. In 1865, his cavalry pursued General Robert E. Lee and was instrumental in forcing his surrender at Appomattox. Later, he became involved in the Indian Wars, tarnishing his reputation with some historians, who accuse him of racism.

• James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart (1833-1864) - Better known as "Jeb", Brown was a soldier from Virginia who served as a Confederate general during the Civil War. He was killed on May 12, 1864 during the Overland Campaign, at the Battle of Yellow Tavern.

• Creed Taylor (1820-1906) - A career soldier and Texas Ranger, Taylor fought in the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War, and against Indians during his time as a Ranger.

• Alfred Howe Terry (1827-1890 - Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869 and again from 1872 to 1886.

• William B. Travis (1809-1836) - A lawyer who settled in Texas from Alabama, Travis strongly disliked Mexican rule, and fought in the Texas Revolution. Fighting along with James Bowie and Davy Crockett, he was killed at the Battle of the Alamo.

• Sarah Rosetta Wakeman; aka: Private Lyons Wakeman (1843-1864) - Disguising herself as a man, Wakeman fought in the Civil War for the Union.

• Cathay Williams (1842-??) - When Congress passed an act authorizing the establishment of the first all Black units of the military, later to become known as "Buffalo Soldiers," Cathay Williams, became the first and only female Buffalo Soldier.

Continued Next Page

Also See:

Forts of the American West

Haunted Forts of the American West

List of Old West Forts

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From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Civil War & Military Photographs - From our personal Photo Print Shop, you can now order prints that provide dramatic glimpses into the Civil War and other military expeditions and battles that occurred during the days of the Old West . From battlegrounds, to generals, Indian Campaigns, the cavalry, and everything in between, you'll find it here and check back often as this varied collection grows daily.