Leaders of the Lost Cause

matthew mckeon · #1 08-08-2007, 06:45 PM

I'm more than halfway through "Leaders of the Lost Cause," a collection of studies by various pretty well known authors about the men who reached full general rank in the CSA.

Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, Kirby Smith, John Bell Hood, Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney Johnston, PGT Beauregard and Braxton Bragg.

The Lee stuff is nothing we haven't all heard a zillion times before. However the Kirby Smith essay was interesting because of the unique nature of his command. I'd never heard of Samuel Cooper, so that was worthwhile. Bragg comes across as a psycho, and Johnston needs some prozac as well. Interesting read.

Makes you realize why people got so mad at Davis, but also sympathetic to his situation. At one point he says something like, history only gives as one or two great generals, but the Confederacy needs at least a half dozen.

samgrant · #2 08-08-2007, 10:17 PM

Which Johnston needs the prozac?

matthew mckeon · #3 08-09-2007, 09:03 AM

Joseph E., definitely. He comes across as a talented man shot through with resentment, envy and paranoia, which gets worse and worse as the war progresses.

Finished it by the way. The gimmick is all the authors are established CW scholars, but had not written previously about the subjects of their essays. Exception is Gallanger on Lee. The Lee and Hood essays were the weakest, but its worth a read.

Strongest: the CSA doesn't really solve the problem of how to effectively defend the West. By CSA, I mean Davis, the military commanders or anyone else. All the commanders, except maybe for Bragg, were talented men, but the conditions were very difficult. Davis never got a real handle on them either. Maybe if Lee had been a Tennessean, with full power and trust from Davis, we would be talking about "all the fightng in the West, but the War was decided by successful offensives in the East."

cw1865 · #4 08-09-2007, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthew mckeon

Strongest: the CSA doesn't really solve the problem of how to effectively defend the West.

I actually think the South does a decent job of doing the impossible with the resources at their disposal. They maintain Vicksburg until July 63 and their calvary causes fits on the Federal supply lines.

samgrant · #5 08-09-2007, 11:26 PM

08-08-07 4:45 pm

matthew mckeon is "halfway through"

08-09-07 7:03 AM

matthew mckeon is "finished"

I just can't help but to be amazed!

Can't wait to see which next book you are "halfway through"!

sam

-