•Elmer Ellsworth
The first Union hero of the Civil War was Col. Elmer Ellsworth, who was killed in Virginia in late May 1861, before any major battles even took place. Ellsworth had organized a company of Zouave militia in the years before the war, and became something of a national celebrity for that.
When the war began he recruited a regiment from the ranks of New York City firemen. A friend of Abraham Lincoln and his family, Ellsworth seemed to symbolize patriotism, and his death very early in the war galvanized public opinion and spurred recruiting in the North.More »
•John Burns, Civilian Hero of Gettysburg
When Confederate forces invaded Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 an elderly resident of Gettysburg, John Burns, was outraged. A veteran of the War of 1812, Burns was a town constable and tangled with the rebel cavalry raiders when they first arrived in town.
When the main forces of the Confederate and Union Armies began to square off outside of the village on July 1, 1863, Burns obtained a rifle from a wounded Union soldier and joined the battle. Wounded by rifle fire, Burns was lucky to survive. And when journalists descended on the scene after the battle, his amazing story was telegraphed out to a curious public and he became, for a time, a famous patriotic figure.More »
•Anna Elizabeth Dickinson
Known as the "Joan of Arc of the North," Anna E. Dickinson was a young woman who gained fame as a public speaker on stages in New England as the Civil War was beginning. In early 1864 she spoke in the chamber of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Capitol, with Abraham Lincoln and his wife in the audience.
Dickinson's career went into decline following the war, but for a time she was extremely famous and served a valuable role in shaping public opinion for the Lincoln administration.More »