Entering the service on either side at various ranks and from all walks of life, thousands of men commanded as officers over the course of the Civil War. Some rose meteorically to high rank, while others ended their service considerably lower than their initial commission. The select group of forty-four commanders included in this book all served at the highest ranks and have been included for their particular contributions during the war between the states. Each brief biography includes the highlights of the subject's career, place and date of birth and death, and is paired with a period photographic portrait (recently digitized at high resolution) from the Library of Congress collection of images.