People

Ulysses S. Grant was one of the most important figures of 19th century America. He was a quiet family man who had worked as a farmer in St. Louis, Missouri, and as a store clerk in Galena, Illinois, before the Civil War. He rose to become President Lincoln's trusted general in charge of the entire U.S. Army during the war and later a two-term president.

Thomas Humphreys was a worker on the Allegheny Portage Railroad and served with the American Highlanders.

John Humphreys was a worker on the Allegheny Portage Railroad and Captain of the American Highlanders.

William Humphreys was an Allegheny Portage Railroad worker and member of the American Highlanders who died in the Mexican-American War at age 22.

Zachary Taylor,commander in the U.S.-Mexican War and twelfth President of the United States.

Mariano Arista was an experienced Mexican officer by the time he commanded troops at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8, 1846. Arista began his military career as an officer in the Spanish Army. The Mexican general even spent some time in the U.S. in the early 1830's. Arista returned to Mexico in 1836 and eventually rose to the rank of General of the Army of the North.

The work Ringgold put into the U.S. flying artillery would serve the U.S. Army well throughout the U.S.-Mexican War. The U.S. flying artillery saw action many times during the war and carried itself well. Ringgold’s tireless efforts to better the U.S. light artillery had a profound effect on the performance of the U.S. Army during the war and the success it enjoyed during the conflict.

James K. Polk's political ambition lead him to become the first “dark horse” U.S. President

P.G.T. Beauregard, the victor of the Battle for Fort Sumter and the Battle of First Manassas, later commanded Confederate armies in the Western Theater at the Battle of Shiloh and the Siege of Corinth. A vocal critic of President Jefferson Davis, he was reassigned to the defense of Charleston in 1863. After the Civil War, Beauregard experienced success in the field of business.

Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, the “Grand Old Man of the Army,” has the distinction of serving as a general longer than any other man in American history. He is remembered as a brilliant tactician, responsible for the “Anaconda Plan” that allowed the Union forces to reclaim the South during the Civil War, and the author of the primary tactical guidebook in use from 1815 through the Civil War.