Benjamin Franklin Butler, Massachusetts politician and Civil War Union Army general, was born in Deerfield, New Hampshire in 1818. After the early death of his father, Butler moved with his mother to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he would later practice law. He was elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1853 and 1859, then lost gubernatorial elections in 1859 and 1860. Though a Democrat, Butler was a strong Unionist and commanded a force of Massachusetts troops that was among the first to reach Washington at the outbreak of the Civil War. After commanding Fort Monroe, Virginia, Butler led successful expeditions against North Carolina's Forts Hatteras and Clark and against Ship Island, off the Gulf Coast. In 1862, he commanded the Union occupation of New Orleans and was appointed the city's military governor, but the controversy surrounding his administration led to his removal at the end of the year. A year later, Butler was named commander of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina; in May 1864, his command became the Army of the James. His failures at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia and at Fort Fisher, North Carolina resulted in Butler's removal from active command later that year, and he resigned his commission on November 30, 1865. Butler returned to politics, serving as a Radical Republican in Congress from 1867 to 1875 and 1877 to 1879. After two failed campaigns, he was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1882, but failed to be renominated in the next election and was an unsuccessful candidate for president the following year. Benjamin Butler died in Washington D.C. in 1893.

Gustave Paul Cluseret, soldier of fortune, newspaper editor, French politician, and artist, was born in Paris in 1823. He graduated from the Military School of Saint-Cyr in 1843 and fought in several significant European military campaigns during the next 20 years. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Cluseret joined the many European adventurers who embarked for the United States. In January 1862, he was appointed a colonel and aide-de-camp to General McClellan but was soon transferred to General John C. Frémont. Though brevetted a brigadier general for his performance at the Battle of Cross Keys in 1862, Cluseret had developed a reputation as a trouble-maker and was reported under arrest in January, 1863, on unspecified charges. His resignation was tendered on March 2, 1863. In 1864, he became editor of The New Nation, using the newspaper to advance Frémont's presidential campaign and to stand in vehement opposition to the second nomination of Abraham Lincoln. He returned to Europe in 1866, but his inflammatory anti-government writings resulted in a prison sentence and eventual exile from France. Cluseret would twice return to his homeland during the next decade only to again become embroiled in insurrectionist activities and be forced to flee for his life. He returned a third time in 1884 and in 1889 was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, a body in which he served until his death. During his later years, Cluseret studied art, exhibiting his works at the Salon in Paris, and continued to write on political and military subjects. He died in 1900.

A native of Ohio, Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1843. He joined the Union Army in 1861. After leading Union forces during the Vicksburg Campaign (1863), he was appointed commanding general of the United States Army in March, 1864 and commanded the army through victory a year later. In 1868, Grant was elected the 18th president of the United States and was re-elected in 1872. Following his presidency, Grant travelled abroad, campaigned unsuccessfully for a third presidential term, and wrote his memoirs. He died in Wilton, New York.