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__**Jefferson Davis**__
He was born June 3,1808 in a christian county,in Kentucky, and died on December 6, 1889 he was 81 years old. Jefferson was the president of the confederate states Most of the men in his family have been in some part of a war, like his older brothers fought in the War of 1812. Also he fought in the American Revolitionary War. In 1835 Jefferson married Sallie Taylor, daughter of Zachary Taylor. Tragically, 3 months after they were married she passed away. After her death Davis bought a Cotton plantation. He had a large number of slaves working his fields. Then in 1845 Davis got remarried to Varina Howell. In around December of that same year Davis took his seat in Congress. When the south withdrew from the Union, they made Davis their leader. He held the title of President of the Confederacy until General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865. When Davis heard the news of his surrender Davis gathered his cabinet and fled South to aviod capture. Davis wanted the North to agree to fairer terms then what they had offered to Lee. On May 10, 1865, Davis and Varina were in Irwinville, Georgia. Union soldiers captured Davis and charged him with treason and plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. He was treated badly during the two years he spent in prison and was never given a trial. Luckily, he was released. The crimes for which he was captured were punishable by death. Davis spent the remainder of his life at his home in Bilouxi, Mississippi. He never applied for a pardon. He still believed that the southern states should have been allowed to withdraw. He died in New Orleans on December 5, 1889. Davis was originally buried in New Orleans. His body was later transferred by funeral car to Richmond, Virginia, which had been the capitol of the Confederacy. Thousands of people attended the ceremony when he was laid in his final resting place.

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__**Robert E. Lee**__
He was born on January 19, 1807 and died October 12, 1870. The birth legend of Robert E. Lee, remains popular and is accepted as fact by many. This is the tale that Lee was born "after the death of his mother," some versions declaring that Mrs Lee was actually in her coffin when a servant heard her groan and saved her from being buried alive. Soon afterward, by this version, she gave birth to Robert E. Lee. The accepted facts are that Anne Carter Lee bore the fourth child of Lighthorse Harry Lee at Stratford, the ancestral home, on January 19, 1807, and that the result of normal childbirth was Robert E. Lee. The only illness on record for Mrs Lee in this period is a severe cold she caught while riding in an open carriage a few days before the birth. Robert, in any event, was born in a room said to have been the birthplace of two signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee. General Robert E. Lee went to West Point Military Academy,he graduated 2nd in his class in 1829.He later returned to his alma mater to serve as Superintendent for the academy in 1852 until 1855.Lee tryed to avoid the appointment, claiming that the post required "more skill and more experience than I command."Once his appeal was denied, Lee launched into his new duty with tireless zeal.He erected stables for the horses and expanded the officers' quarters and the cadet hospital. He tightened discipline and raised academic standards. For all these improvements, Lee was best remembered by the cadets for his stately bearing. On June 30,1831 while serving as Second Lieutenant of Engineers at Fort Monroe, Virginia.He met and married Mary Ann Randolph Custis of Arlington.She was the only daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington and the adopted grandson of George Washington.After giving birth to a second child in 1835, Mary was struck by arthritis.Lee was stunned.Despite her disability, Mary bore him five more children. Lee adored his children.Yet his love for them made even more painful his long absences from his family on tours of duty in Texas and other distance places. He and Mary had seven children total: William Henry Fitzhugh, George Washington Custis, Mary Custis, Annie Carter, Eleanor Agnes, Robert Edward and Mildred Childe. When Lee was at war he got word of the death of his daughter Annie. His secretary saw him take the news without change of expression.

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__**Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson**__ Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born on January 21, 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. He entered West Point in July 1842 and, in spite of his poor childhood education, worked hard to graduate seventeenth of fifty-nine students in his class in 1846. Upon graduation, Jackson was sent on military duty to Mexico, and continued his service in the United States Army in positions in New York and Florida. In 1851, Jackson became professor of artillery tactics and natural philosophy at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. He resigned from the army as of February 29, 1852. Jackson was an orphan at age 7. He was the 3rd child of Julia (Neale) and Jonathan Jackson. Jackson's father was an attorney. Two years after he was born his father and sister, Elizabeth died of typohoid fever. His mother then had to raise them on her own. When Jackson was int eh battle of Bullrun (in the civil war) he got his nickname "stonewall". He died at Guiney's Station, Virginia. They carried his body to Richmond, where it was buried. It was said that once Thomas Jackson died the army of Northern Virginia never recovered from his loss. General Robert E. Lee believed that Jackson was irreplacable. Detached from Lee, he swung off to the north to face John Pope's army and after a slipshod battle at Cedar Mountain, slipped behind Pope and captured his Manassas junction supply base. He then hid along an incomplete branch railroad and awaited Lee and Longstreet. Attacked before they arrived, he held on until Longstreet could launch a devastating attack which brought a second Bull Run victory. In the invasion of Maryland, Jackson was detached to capture Harpers Ferry and was afterwards distinguished at Antietam with Lee. He was promoted after this and given command of the now-official 2nd Corps. It had been known as a wing or command before this. He was disappointed with the victory at Fredericksburg because it could not be followed up. In his greatest day he led his corps around the Union right flank at Chancellorsville and routed the 11th Corps. Reconnoitering that night, he was returning to his own lines when he was mortally wounded by some of his own men. Following the amputation of his arm, he died eight days later on May 10, 1863, from pneumonia. Stonewall Jackson is buried in Lexington, Virginia.

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George was born in Richmond Virginia. On January 28,1825,Pickett graduated from West Point in l846,last in a class of 59. Among his several classmates who became generals were George B. McClellan and Thomas J. Jackson. In the war with Mexico Pickett was brevetted lieutenant and captain for his service in the Siege of Vera Cruz and during the subsequent advance on Mexico City. He served in Texas, Virginia, and Washington Territory until 1861, when he resigned his commission to enter the Confederate army. First a colonel, then a brigadier general, as of 14 Jan. 1862, he served under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet during the Seven Days' Campaign and was wounded at Gaines' Mill. As a major general, 10 Oct. 1862, commanding a division, he was at Fredericksburg. His name in Civil War history was secured in a losing cause, the charge against the Federal center on the third day at Gettysburg. Following bloody but inconclusive movements 1-2 July, Lee ordered the massive assault, which followed an intensive but basically ineffectual cannonade. Under Pickett's immediate command were the brigades of Brig. Gens. James L. Kemper, Richard B. Garnett, and Lewis A. Armistead. According to reports, Pickett was in excellent spirits and expected to carry the Union defenses. At mid-afternoon the forward movement began with the troops dressed as if on parade as they marched into the Federal guns. Pickett, as division commander, attempted to coordinate the ill-fated movement and, contrary to the view of some critics, acquitted himself bravely and well. But the task was impossible, and he ordered his men to withdraw when clearly they could not break the Union center. Notwithstanding the bravery of his troops and his own efforts on the field, Pickett's military reputation was afterward in decline. He fought in battles at New Berne, Petersburg, and Five Forks. General R. E. Lee relieved him of his command after Sayler's Creek, only days before the final surrender at Appomattox. Following the war he was an insurance salesman in Richmond and died in Norfolk July 30, 1875.======

__**The Army of Northern Virginia**__

The Army of Northern Virginia, in many peoples eyes, was "the" Army of the Confederacy. This Army fought in many prominent battles such as Gettysburg, First and Second Bull Run, Fredricksburg, and many others. It also had many famous commanders in its ranks such as General Robert E. Lee, General J.E.B. Stuart, General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, General George Pickett, and General James Longstreet. Besides troops from Virginia, this Army was equipped with troops and supplies from all over the Confederacy and from a few Border States. This Army, which got its name from the area that it operated in, had the primary purpose of defending Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, and countering the Union’s Army of the Potomac. This Army, though always outnumbered, was able to not only defend the Confederate capital of Richmond, but also was repeatedly able to defeat the enemy and twice invade the Union. In the end the hopes and dreams of the Confederacy died when this army was forced to surrender. Here are what ahppend in these 5 battles:

1. The Battle of Bull Run or Manassas was the first battle for the Army of Northern Virginia (July 21, 1861). The Army was commanded by Joseph E. Johnston, but used a plan of attack by General P.G.T. Beauregard since he was unfimiliar with the ground. Though he had been there for almost two months Beauregard was taken by surprise by the Army of the Potomac. Beauregard, who was expecting an attack on his right, had positioned only a half a brigade to cover his left. Thanks to a heroic effort by Colonel Nathan G. Evans and his four companies the Confederates were able to bring reinforcements to their weak left side. More reinforcements started to arrive, including Thomas Jackson who received his nickname "Stonewall" at this battle. He received this nickname for holding his ground against continuous union attacks. The Union right was devastated by Confederate infantry and finally by a charge of Jeb Stuart’s Cavalry. As the Union right melted panic began to spread throughout the lines. The Yankees retreated back across Bull Run Creek and headed, as some say, straight for Washington. In this battle the Yankee’s lost 2,900 men and countless amounts of supplies. The Confederates suffered 2,000 casualties, but got the morale boost that would help them win future battles.

2. During the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862), Robert E. Lee made one of his greatest, and riskiest, decisions of the Civil War. He decided to split his Army in the face of superior numbers to try to crush General Pope’s Army of Virginia before it could unite with McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. To do this Lee sent Stonewall Jackson and his 25,000 men on a 50-mile march to encircle Pope’s forces. Jackson and his troops arrived at Manassas Junction on the 27 th and began to pillage the supply post. Jackson then moved his troops to Stony Ridge on the old battlefield to wait for Lee and the rest of the Army. During mid-afternoon of the 28th Jackson decided to attack before Pope’s troops got too strong. He attacked with a 3-1 advantage before the Union’s lines were reinforced. A bloody battle ensued until day’s end. On the 29th Pope ordered his lines to attack in an uncoordinated effort. Longstreet’s troops arrived and reinforced the Confederate right while overlapping the Union left. The next day Pope felt that the Confederates were retreating and ordered many attacks on the well-entrenched Southerners. Finally as the Union lines began to crumble, Longstreet attacked and crushed the Yankee’s. This victory gave the Rebels an alleyway to the North and might help to give them foreign support. In this battle the Union lost 14,462 men while the Confederates lost 9,474.

3. After the confidence gained from Lee’s daring splitting of his troops at Second Bull Run, Lee decided to do it again during his first invasion of the North. This war was called the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862). McClellan cornered Lee with only half of his command and with the Army of Northern Virginia pinned against the Potomac River. This battle started in an unusual fashion, with McClellan on the offensive. Hooker’s and Mansfield’s Corps started by attacking the Confederate left. Later the II Corp under Sumner pushed into the Confederate center and met D.H. Hill’s Rebels at Sunken Road (Bloody Lane). This bloody fighting in the center raged on for hours. The Confederates had to move men from their right to counter the strong Union attacks on the center and left. This meant that their right was vulnerable. Thanks to inaction by Ambrose Burnside, and the timely arrival of A.P. Hill later in the day, the Rebel right would be safe. It was A.P. Hill’s strong counterblow that stopped the Yankee’s and saved the day for the Confederates. In this battle Lee lost 1/5 of his army (10,000 out of 50,000) and McClellan lost 12,400 out of his 85,000 men.

4. This battle, which took place just days before Christmas, was one of the Confederates greatest victories in the Civil WarBattle of Fredricksberg December 13, 1862. The new commander of the Army of the Potomac, Ambrose Burnside, spent all day on December 12th trying to deploy pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock River. While the Union spent their day entrenching, Lee nd his Army dug deeper and deeper into their well-fortified position on the heights of Fredericksburg, which was called Marye’s Heights. Finally on the 13th the Yankees attacked the Confederate position. Though the fighting on the Confederate right lasted until midday, the Union troops accomplished nothing and were left to wonder what could have been. The fight in the center of the battlefield did not begin until around noon when the II Corp began to advance against the Rebel lines. They were met by heavy fire, as were the many other divisions that followed the II Corp. They were all unmercifully slaughtered as they tried to descend the slope towards the Confederates. Finally nightfall came and put an end to the slaughter. The next day Burnside and his men left the battlefield, but refused to give up the town of Fredericksburg. Two days later Burnside called for a truce to collect the dead and then went back across the Rappahannock. In this battle Burnside lost almost 13,000 men out of his army of 120,000. On the other hand, Lee only lost 5,000 men out of his army of 90,000.

5. In the spring of 1862 Lee was surprised by the Army of the Potomac’s movement across the Rapidan (Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-4, 1863). Though surprised, Lee was able to meet Hooker’s army before it got into a position to devastate the Rebels. Lee was now poised to take one of the biggest chances in military history; he would once again divide his army. Lee sent Jackson and several divisions to his left to flank the Union army. At around 5 p.m. on the 2nd of May, Jackson’s men struck the Yankee right with devastating effects. The shock of the attack caused m

any Yankee’s to go into a full-fledged retreat towards the rear. The Union army was only saved by darkness and disorganization on the part of the Rebels. This disorganization and darkness also caused a terrible thing to happen, General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was shot by one of his own men. He would die a few days later from complications to this wound. This was a devastating loss to the Rebels, one that if prevented could have changed the outcome of the war. On the next day as the Union was about to attack an exposed flank of the Rebel army, Hooker unexpectedly called off all attacks. It seems that he was concerned about getting his army off of the field intact. Yankee divisions from other parts of the battlefield started attacking the Confederates on the 3rd but Lee was able to take men from other parts of the battle that had died down to stop these Union attacks. Unorganized fighting went on for the next two days but nothing major. Finally Hooker pulled his men back across the Rapidan to rest. The campaign, which looked promising for the Union, turned into a devastating loss. The Union lost 17,000 of 134,000 men while the Rebels lost 12,800 out of 61,000. The South would never recover from the loss of Jackson, one of its finest commanders.