MLB Players' Beards vs. Civil War Generals' Beards

Monday is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of the Civil War. The battle turned back a Confederate invasion of the North, and led to Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Though the Civil War was five or six generations ago, some ballplayers clearly haven't gotten the message. While they're not quite rocking the Alpheus S. Williams look, here are a few ballplayers who rock or have rocked a look similar to various other Civil War figures.

Brian Wilson: J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown Stuart was a dashing Confederate cavalry officer who fell in the 1864 Spotsylvania Campaign.

Meaning he didn't make Taco Bell XXL Chalupa commercials and need two Tommy John surgeries.

Note also that both men have the piercing blue-green eyes.

John Axford, Early 2011: P.G.T. Beauregard

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard is known as being the shortest-tenured superintendent of West Point, lasting only five days before turning Confederate and leading the firing on Fort Sumter.

He's not known for converting a large number of saves consecutively, as Axford did in 2011 and early 2012.

John Axford, Early 2012: George Armstrong Custer

Axford entered 2012 with a little more hair on the back and sides of his head, and is beginning to resemble the young, arrogant cavalry officer who was later to fall at Little Bighorn.

Sergio Romo: Ulysses S. Grant

Sergio Romo didn't hold on during of Vicksburg and Petersburg, and he didn't save the day at Appomattox. Grant didn't pitch for 10 saves and 23 holds this season. However, Romo, a native of Brawley, Calif., still has a shot at being president by age 47.

Eric Hosmer: William T. Sherman

Several MLB players sport the several days of scruff. However, the disappointing Royals first baseman does it with the additional crossed-arm effect.

Matt Garza: Abraham Lincoln?

I struggled to find a person that matched Matt Garza's beard. Most Civil War figures either had mustaches or sideburns to go along with the long strands emulating from their chins.

Then I remembered reading a book about the death of the Great Emancipator. When he was embalmed, Lincoln's beard was shaved except for one tuft on the chin.

In other words, Lincoln rocked the Garza look.

In an unrelated note, the Cubs' last World Series is closer in time to the Civil War than it is to today.

Kevin Youkilis: Irvin McDowell

Kevin Youkilis was injured earlier this season, and was ultimately dealt from one Sox to the other. Must've been because he struck out at First Manassas.