The American Civil War is filled with fascinating characters. This collection of biographical essays on the 'winners and losers' of the Civil War covers some of the most intriguing: Ulysses S Grant, Sam Houston, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and William Clarke Quantrill, to name just a few. The articles represent a broad cross-section of the scholarship of noted author Albert Castel; most were written over a fifty-year period for publication in national 'popular history' magazines such as "American Heritage", "Civil War History", and "Civil War Times Illustrated".