Civil War Dream Team Armies

[milhistbuff1]

thank you for the tip, contrary to my joinup date i have only been checking out the MHO in the past week or so, prior to that i've been getting my bearings here. I've added O'Rorke to my lineup on page one.
Respectfully
Matt

[samgrant]

I'm not qualified to build a "dream team" as such, but I would like to pose a point about this.

It appears to me that this includes various commanders throughout the war. As if they were all able to be all together at one time (dead or alive).

So it's hard to comprehend this exercise; with the most obvious example of the battle at Shiloh, where the reputedly best Southern general (A.S. Johnston) was pitted against a relatively unknown U.S. Grant. (At that point Johnston would have been near or at the top while Grant might not have made the list.)

So if you did this at different points throughout the war, you would have to change the roster according to the status of the principles.

So if this neglects the times and spaces of the war and judges each of the principals by their best qualities and at their heights, I suppose one could posit a "dream team", but at any one point, the team would be very different.

[matthew mckeon]

Any "general in chief" had to have one overarching skill: getting the trust and confidence of Jefferson Davis. Lee did, but Lee would be wasted in a "Halleck" like role. He belonged at the head of an army. If not Lee who? I don't think Joseph Johnson, just because, despite his talents, he could not have worked closely with Davis. If not Lee or J. Johnson, who?

On the Union side:
By 1864, Grant was virtually in charge of the Army of the Potomac only, and concentrated most of his attention on defeating Lee. He understood the importance of coordinated action across the continent, and Sherman and Thomas followed a very general strategy. But Sherman especially, originated a great deal of his war making and its objectives himself, demonstrating considerable autonomy.

[pvt gauss]

gentlemen, ladies, compliments,

1.Forrest
2. Clebeurne
3.Sherman
4. Hunt Morgan
5. Thomas[union]
6. Lee
7.A.P. Hill
8. T.J. Jackson
9. Wheeler
10. Rosecrans
11. Grant
12. Longstreet
13. P.G.T. Beauregard
14.Goes down from here.
Personel Picks- DuH!!

[milhistbuff1]

Western Naval Contingent- Farrogut- Porter
Command of all forces west of the Alleghenies- Sherman
AOT- Logan
AOO- McPherson
AOC Thomas

[johan_steele]

Originally Posted by IrishBrigadeLadd

Question:
Where do you think people such as Emory Upton fit into all of this Dream Team Army stuff? How high up do you think he should go?
Or people like Paddy O'Rorke. even though he was killed as just as colonel, it is said that if he would have outlived the war, he would have had one of the most promising and successful military careers. Number 1 at West Point, natural military command mindset and abilities, and the confidence of all of his superiors.
Where do you think they would fit best?

Personally I think Upton to have been one of the best produced by the Union, he served superbly in every role given him. Has anyone mentioned Wilson either?

We had a similar thread a while back asking for a Dream Brigade, Division Corps Ary etc... interesting to tie into that maybe.

[FSPowers]

If I was the Union Commander in Chief, my choices would be:

Grant: Operational commander of all Union forces in the field.
Meade: Overall Eastern Theatre Commander
AofP: Sheridan
AofJ:Hancock

Sherman: Overall Western Theatre Commander
AofT: Thomas
AofO: Slocum
AofC: Howard

Naval Commander: Farragut

As Confederate Commander in Chief:

Lee: Operational Commander of Confederate forces in the field.

Longstreet: Eastern Theatre Commander
AofNV: Longstreet (I can find no one else)
AofE: Beaurregard

Johnston, J.: Western Theatre Commander
AofT: Hood
AofTM: Smith

Naval Commander: Semmes

Just my personal opinion.

[IrishBrigadeLadd]

Powers,
I like your suggestions, but the only thing that i want to comment on is that I think that Grant and Sherman were like the two rooks on a chess board: you keep them in contact and they will become almost unstopable. I think that Sherman should be working directly with Grant, but that is just opinion. This is, however, assuming that Grant would be operating from the east. My point is, where Grant goes, Sherman shouldn't be too far away.

As for the Rebels, I have only 2 suggestions: 1) For the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, how about having Jackson? He always seemed to work well with Longstreet.

And for the Army of Tennessee, i would have to say that Hood might not be the best choice, for look at the blood he spilled during the Franklin-Nashville campaign. he was a very bold and couragous officer, most likely one of the best brigade or even Division commanders in the Confederate Armies, but as an army officer, his aggressive attitude seemed to overshadow his rationale. This could and did lead to serious trouble.
Other than that, i really like your suggestion.

Respectfully,
Andrew

[FSPowers]

Johnston would have to post himself at Hood's HQ. Kind of like Grant posting homsef at Meade's HQ.


As far as Jackson is concerned, it would depend on him surviving Chancallorsville, then I would see him as commander, AofNV. (Is that question on the "What if" forum?)

[5fish]

Originally Posted by IrishBrigadeLadd

Of all the good commanders in both the Northern and Southern Armies, it is a shame that many of them did not have the chance to work together, either because of assignment, or becoming a casualty. However, what if you could somehow construct the perfect Civil War Armies for each side? Imagine how different the war would have been! Here is your chance to see if you can come up with the ultimate army from the War of the Rebellion Era. Here are my restrictions that my friend and I came up with:
I was thinking most likely no lower than brigade level, though a friend and I have tried to make our own using regimental commanders too, but that is proving very difficult.
We decided on a format: The armed forces of each country will have a general-in-cheif, 2 or 3 army commanders (depends on how in depth you want to go), 7 corps per army, 3 divisions per corps, and 5 brigades per division (we also said 5 regiments per brigade, but, like i said, it isn't easy to remember that many colonels.) We are also having separate cavalry and artillery sections.


If you have any suggestions, It would be greatly appreciated. Just give me any generals, north or south, and where you think they would serve best in the chain of command, and, if possible, who you think would serve well under them as lesser commanders. You do not have to give me a full run down f every position you think should be filled, for that is extremely time consuming. But if you think you know of a couple men who would be best suited for a certain job, just let me know and I'll be sure to take it under heavy consideration.
Thanks for the help.
Respectfully,
-Andrew

mix and match army--What would be your dream combo---