What if all the former US Military Officers remained loyal to the Union?

[M E Wolf]

Dear List Members;

I proffer this what if question -- What if former/veteran and active military officers, such as General Lee, General Lee's kinfolk also Generals with last name Lee, Jackson, Armistead, Pickett, Garnett, Longstreet, Johnson, Johnston, Early, JEB Stuart, DH Hill, AP Hill, Beauregard, Bee, etc. -- All from West Point, US Military Academy refused to join the Confederacy?

I shall look forward to your comments!

Respectfully submitted for your consideration,
M. E. Wolf

[richard]

Not much of a war. No leadership on the Confederate side as shown by history. Though, Forrest could have been a hand full in the west.

[ole]

Not much of a war.

Quite an understatement! As former military men, Davis and Bragg belong on that list as well as Beauregard. Without these guys there would have been military chaos.

ole

[larry_cockerham]

Originally Posted by M E Wolf

Dear List Members;

I proffer this what if question -- What if former/veteran and active military officers, such as General Lee, General Lee's kinfolk also Generals with last name Lee, Jackson, Armistead, Pickett, Garnett, Longstreet, Johnson, Johnston, Early, JEB Stuart, DH Hill, AP Hill, Beauregard, Bee, etc. -- All from West Point, US Military Academy refused to join the Confederacy?

I shall look forward to your comments!

Respectfully submitted for your consideration,
M. E. Wolf

Had that happened, one could only conclude that most of them were less than honorable men, or at the least, weren't paying much attention. All men, if not otherwise coerced, were challenged to take a stand in this war based on their convictions. Men of the southern states, such as Lee, decided home was worth fighting for and one's neighbors worth assisting. Many Union men put their hopes in preserving the Union. Three of my ancestors did so; others followed their hearts. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who Richard mentioned earlier, wanted no part of secession and stated so at the time. He, like many thousands of others, was in a fight he couldn't avoid, so he rode with his neighbors.

[M E Wolf]

Dear List Members,

IF these military soldiers had not joined the Confederacy -- there would have been those eager to take their places I would think.

General Gordon jumps out to me--a citizen soldier who learned as he went much like General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain --There are many 'educated men' to whom took up the cloak of leadership and became Generals--

What of state militias? --

Revolutionary times did not have an organized army/navy/Marine--yet, they created a good army from 'citizen' soldiers.

Just some thoughts,

Respectfully submitted for consideration,
M. E. Wolf

[diddyriddick]

M. E,

I dunno....Command of a brigade or division is one thing, command of a corps or army is something else altogether.

[richard]

The learning curve of a green army with green officers would have taken much too long. Then you have the local allegiances to the southern men. It is possible that most of what was the ANV would have become the Union Army of Virginia, with Lee and Jackson at it head.

One thing is for sure, the tactics of the souther army would have been much different than those of the north at the start of the war.

[5fish]

If the Southern States would have still been determined to secede even with the National army standing behind the our Constitution and National government, the only option would have had to been a gorilla style warfare or insurgent warfare against the national army in the south.

Most likely a much longer war and maybe just as bloody..


Mind Freeze!

[M E Wolf]

Dear DiddyRiddick/David and List Members,

In looking at the US Regular Army pre Civil War, the Army wasn't all that big to begin with--thus the need for volunteers in great numbers was called for by President Lincoln.

Perhaps my confidence in the leadership of the militia is a bit more than can be understood however, in any 'emergency' -- the citizens, such in cases of disaster are very cooperative and accepting of leadership if it makes the task a success and efficient.

Guerilla warfare has been a part of American warfare, as the Native American Indians fighting among themselves before the Colonies--established this tactic--due to their numbers and weapons. The Indians gave the Western posts a fit and clobbered the Regular Army many times--even after the Civil War. Guerilla warfare was used by Colonel Marian-Revolutionary War, in the War of 1812, French and Indian War --

I am also looking to those graduates of VMI -- to which is similar to the USMA aka West Point --this was a potential pool.

I am also looking at former soldiers and non-commissioned officers -- at times, in reading the official reports--they had more common sense tactics then 'West Point's drill into the mind out-of-date tactics' in regard to the advent of newer weapons.

Just some thoughts.

Respectfully submitted for consideration,
M. E. Wolf

[Baggage Handler #2]

I'm not seeing a large scale guerilla war as sustainable or possible there/then.

Where both armies suffered, I think, were an absence of qualified company grade officers and NCO's, although the lunacy of elected officers was soon noticed and abandoned.

The generals... It's a mixed bag. I used to subscribe to the popular thought that the southern generals were generally better. I'm much less sure of that. It may have been the command structure or it may have been the leadership - and there is a difference - but I don't get the sense of an overall plan by CS generals, but I do get the sense of a lot of bickering and jealousies (Bragg, Hood, Jackson, etc). Yes, the north had this as well, but mostly these individuals either surpressed their personal ambitions or were shuffled to some backwater post, where their contribution was logistics and planning.
At least that's my take.

After looking this over, it occurs to me that there may be some potential for exploring the relationship between "personal ambition" and a decision to accept or apply for a commission in the CS army. Not all of course, but it would be interesting to explore.