U.S. Presidents with Union Ties

Same source as the presidents with Confederate ties.

Some of the ex-presidents still alive during the Civil War, including Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan, were vocal supporters of Lincoln and the Union cause.

Charles Francis Adams was the son of one president and grandson of another and was minister of Great Britain under Lincoln.  (John Quincy Adams and John Adams)

Lincoln's second vice president, Andrew Johnson, was a Tennessee senator who had remained loyal to the Union.  This helped present a united ticket in the 1864 election.  Johnson became president after Lincoln's assassination.

Five future U.S. presidents:  Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison and McKinley, all fought for the Union.

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Not a Union Tie

Robert E. Lee's wife Mary was the granddaughter of George Washington's stepson.

--Old Secesh

Presidential Visits to Antietam Battlefield-- Part 4: William McKinley

Perhaps no other U.S. president, save for possibly Lincoln, is as closely associated with Antietam Battlefield than William McKinley.  He served at Antietam as a sergeant of Company E, 23rd Ohio Infantry, the so-called Presidents Regiment.

Just three days before Antietam, at the Battle of South Mountain, McKinley's regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, had his left arm shattered by a musket ball and was forced to relinquish command.

As a nineteen-year-old commissary sergeant, McKinley kept the boys of the regiment well-fed at Antietam, even risking his life on the firing line to do so.

After the war, he served many years  in the U.S. House of Representatives, then as a two-term governor of Ohio before being elected president in 1896 and 1900.

--Old Secesh

Ten Notable Civil War Coincidences-- Part 1

The March 4th List Universe had "Ten Notable Coincidences of the American Civil War.

I knew some of them, but not others.

10. PRESIDENTS-- Two future presidents of the United States, Rutherford Hayes and William McKinley served in the23rd Ohio Volunteers.

9. FAMOUS LAST WORDS-- The Union Army's 6th Corps commander, Major General John Sedgwick tried to rally his men who were ducking because of sniper fire at the opening of the Battle of Spotsylvania, May 8, 1864. he had just started to say, "They couldn't hit an elephant from this distance, when a bullet shot to the head killed him instantly.

8. THE FALLING SWORD-- General Jackson's sword was propped up against a tree when it fell over on its own. Some believed it was an ominous sign. Later that day, he was wounded by his own men and later died from it. This helped foster the story of the falling sword.

More Coincidences to Come. --Old B-Runner