List of American Civil War generals

The list of American Civil War (Civil War) generals has been divided into five articles: an introduction on this page, a list of Union Army generals, a list of Union brevet generals, a list of Confederate Army generals and a list of prominent acting Confederate States Army generals.

The American Civil War (April 1861 – May 1865) pitted the forces of the northern "Union" or "Free" states against those of the southern "Confederate states". Long simmering sectional antagonisms and differences were brought to a head by the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States in November 1860 and led to the Civil War. These centered on the possible abolition of slavery but included competing understandings of federalism, party politics, expansionism, sectionalism, tariffs, economics, values, and social structures

A longer than usual introduction is desirable for these lists because a description of the leadership of the small pre-Civil War U.S. Army and what became of those leaders not only shows that many inexperienced men had to become Civil War generals, but that more men with some military training and experience were available than may be commonly believed. The identification as generals of some officers who served in the Civil War armies is disputed and controversial, as some generals or groups of generals have some background or service details in common.

Since historians dispute exactly who should be counted as Union or Confederate generals during the American Civil War (Civil War), some officers identified as generals in some past writings may not meet the criteria for identification as full grade (or substantive grade, or actual grade or "rank") generals. Many estimates of the number of substantive generals of actual grade, or "rank," are within about 10 names of each other. A recent compilation by John and David Eicher show most historians who have studied the number have concluded that between 554 and 564 substantive grade Union generals and between 398 and 401 substantive grade Confederate generals were properly appointed, confirmed, accepted appointment and served as general officers. Historians' use of different lists or criteria for inclusion as generals can add names to these totals. The inclusion of entire other categories of "generals," such as those who acted as generals but did not receive appointments, state militia generals, Union brevet generals and even some others, can add more names to the lists.

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