Curated playlist
American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
- Don Carlos BuellUnion General Don Carlos Buell missed most of the battle that ended his career. At Perryville, weather muffled the guns.
- Joseph HookerA typesetter's dropped dash gave Civil War general Joseph Hooker the nickname "Fighting Joe." Hooker hated it.
- Braxton BraggA soldier set off a shell under Braxton Bragg's cot in 1847, and Bragg was untouched.
- Jefferson DavisWhy was Confederate president Jefferson Davis never tried for treason? Prosecutors feared an acquittal.
- Irvin McDowellIrvin McDowell told politicians his troops weren't ready, and they sent him to fight anyway.
- John SedgwickUnion General John Sedgwick told his men enemy sharpshooters couldn't hit an elephant.
- George B. McClellanGeneral McClellan wrote that he might have made himself Dictator if he had wanted to.
- James LongstreetAt Gettysburg, Confederate General James Longstreet could not speak the order for Pickett's Charge and only nodded.
- Earl Van DornConfederate general Earl Van Dorn was shot at his own desk by a doctor. The doctor accused him of seducing his wife.
- David HunterIn May 1862, General David Hunter declared all enslaved people in three states free. Lincoln canceled it.
- George Henry ThomasGeorge Henry Thomas's sisters sent back his money and declared they had no brother. He stayed in the U.S. Army.
- Richard Taylor (Confederate general)Richard Taylor became a Confederate lieutenant general without ever attending a military academy.
- John C. FrémontJohn C. Frémont served just 175 days as a U.S. senator. He was in Washington for only twenty-one working days.
- P. G. T. BeauregardBeauregard fired the Civil War's first shots at his own former teacher. Robert Anderson had taught him at West Point.
- Sterling PriceSterling Price invaded Chihuahua after the Mexican-American War had already ended. The press still praised him.