Nebraska Territory in the American Civil War

Like the early Kansas settlers, Nebraska residents were commonly migrants from the Northern United States and chose to exclude slavery from their territory.

On May 15, Alvin Saunders, a staunch Republican and supporter of President Lincoln, was sworn in as the formal Governor of Nebraska Territory.

No Civil War battles or skirmishes were fought within the territorial borders of Nebraska, nor did Confederate troops attempt to invade the area, but Nebraskans did serve in the Union Army.

[3] Serving in the forces under Ulysses S. Grant, the 1st Nebraska Infantry participated in the successful attack on Fort Donelson in Tennessee and then fought at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.

[6] Today, several active groups exist in the state of Nebraska that trace their organizational ancestry to Nebraska postwar veterans groups, including the Grand Army of the Republic, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS).