- Feb 6 William Maxwell Evarts, American lawyer & statesman (Union), born in Charlestown, Massachusetts (d. 1901)
- Feb 8 Austin Blair, American politician, Governor of Michigan, born in New York (d. 1894)
- Feb 10 Isham Green Harris, Gov (Confederacy), (d. 1897)
Frederick Douglass (c. 1817/18-1895)
Feb 14 African-American abolitionist, lecturer and editor who was also an escaped slave [exact birth year unknown], born in Talbot County, Maryland
- Feb 23 Jeremy Francis Gilmer, American general and engineer (Chief Engineer for Confederate War Dept, planned defense of Atlanta), born in Guilford County, North Carolina (d. 1883)