Donald Trump made some comments about Andrew Jackson and the civil war (despite Jackson being dead for 15 years before the civil war started) and it made me wonder what past presidents were doing during this time.
This question has been asked twice before and gotten solid answers both times from /u/Chaingunfighter, /u/tinyshadow and others.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/52476q/how_did_former_us_presidents_who_were_alive/
(I'd argue this downplays Tyler's pro confederate views including his emotional response to Virginia's vote to leave the Union but it's a good roundup for the question).
and here's another take on it with some more back and forth
I also believe one of the american presidency, elections or civil war megathreads discusses this
When were there the most former presidents alive?