FAQ #9: Did anyone famous in the Civil War come from Kentucky?

ANSWER: Yes.

Where do we begin to list the famous Kentuckians who were involved in the Civil War? First, both presidents during the Civil War -- Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, were born in Kentucky. Both had moved to other states during their lives but they were both native Kentuckians.
There were numerous other Kentuckians who became very famous during the Civil War:

Robert Anderson -- commander at Fort Sumter when the Confederate forces in Charleston harbor fired on it.

Gen. John Buford -- Union cavalry commander at the battle of Gettysburg

Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner -- Confederate commander at Fort Donelson when he was forced to surrender the fort to Union General Ulysses S. Grant

Gen. John C. Breckinridge -- Gen. Breckinridge was already famous before the Civil War. He had been the Vice President under James Buchanan and had run as a candidate for the Presidency in 1860 as a Democrat. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate army, commanded the famous Kentucky Orphan Brigade and served as the Confederate Secretary of War in the latter months of the war.

Mary Todd Lincoln was born in Lexington, Kentucky and was First Lady in the White House in Washington, DC with her husband, President Abraham Lincoln.