Oddly enough, one of the soldiers most likely to die in combat during the Civil War was a Brigadier General.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, my favorite Union General, fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Cold Harbor, the Second Battle of Petersburg, the Battle of White Oak Road, the Battle of Five Forks, and the Appomattox Campaign. He would have fought in more battles, but he suffered grievous wounds on numerous occasions. Once he was wounded so badly that some papers printed his obituary. Chamberlain, a college professor, so distinguished himself as a soldier that Grant appointed him to receive the formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. He also was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Patrick Cleburne, my favorite Confederal General, fought in the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Stones River, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Chattanooga Campaign, the Battle of Pickett's Mill, the Atlanta Campaign, and the Battle of Franklin. He would have fought in more battles, but he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Franklin. Cleburne, who was known as the Stonewall of the West, was the only Confederate leader to fight Sherman to a standstill in a pitched battle. Cleburne was a lawyer and a native of Ireland who owned no slaves; he went to war to defend his adoptive state, Arkansas. Cleburne ruined his military career by writing a letter to Jefferson Davis urging emancipation of any slaves who would volunteer to enlist in the CSA. He urged that the emancipation extend to the families of such slaves as well.
