Who Should Have Been Promoted But Wasn't?

JeffBrooks

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Location
Hutto, TX
Here's a question I would be interested in hearing opinions on. . . which officers, Union and/or Confederate, do you think deserved promotion but didn't receive it? Why?

I, for one, think Jubal Early should have been promoted to command of the Second Corps after his performance in the Chancellorsville Campaign.
 
Last edited:
Pat Cleburne, one of the finest division commanders in the CSA, whose aggressive leadership ability was demonstrated at places like Tunnel Hill, Ringgold's Gap, and Pickett's Mill. But his advocacy for enlisting slaves was suppressed by Davis, and most likely ended chances for promotion.

Absolutely! I do wonder if the success at his command level would have necessarily translated to success at higher levels of command, but he certainly showed great promise.
 
Vote Here:
Alpheus Williams was a solid Union commander whose career as a division commander in the XII Corps (and later as part of Sherman's army), performed consistently and effectively at places like Culp's Hill in Gettysburg and during the Atlanta Campaign. Although he assumed temporary Corps command at times, he was never promoted to permanent command most likely because he was not a "professionally trained" soldier, and he lacked the political skills that were often necessary to gain advancement.
 
Vote Here:
Absolutely! I do wonder if the success at his command level would have necessarily translated to success at higher levels of command, but he certainly showed great promise.
If I had to bet on it, I would put my money on Cleburne. But at the level of Army command, it's hard to know how Cleburne, as an immigrant and not politically connected to the southern establishment, would have been perceived by that group, even regardless of his view on Black enlistment.
 
Vote Here:
I definitely agree that Cleburne should have been promoted, maybe not to an army command, but definitely to lieutenant general in command of a corps. I think John Breckinridge deserved a promotion to that level.

On the Federal side of the coin I think that John A. Logan should have received command of the Army of the Tennessee after McPherson's death.
 
Vote Here:
Col. Robert (Black Bob) McCulloch of the 2nd MO. Cav, CSA.
Supposidly his promotion to a generalship was laying on Jeff. Davis's desk awaiting his signature as Richmond was being evacuated in 1865, so the paper was never signed. As early as 1863, he had been recommended for promotion several times, but it never took place.
 
Vote Here:
Pat Cleburne, one of the finest division commanders in the CSA, whose aggressive leadership ability was demonstrated at places like Tunnel Hill, Ringgold's Gap, and Pickett's Mill. But his advocacy for enlisting slaves was suppressed by Davis, and most likely ended chances for promotion.
Agreed
 
Vote Here:
I, for one, think Jubal Early should have been promoted to command of the Second Corps after his performance in the Chancellorsville Campaign.

I agree.

Besides Stonewall's blessing, Ewell and Hill being career Army officers (like Lee) may have given them a leg up on Early who had resigned only about a year after graduating West Point.
 
Vote Here:
Pat Cleburne, one of the finest division commanders in the CSA, whose aggressive leadership ability was demonstrated at places like Tunnel Hill, Ringgold's Gap, and Pickett's Mill. But his advocacy for enlisting slaves was suppressed by Davis, and most likely ended chances for promotion.
Although his stance concerning use of black troops and their subsequent emancipation prevented Cleburne's "official" promotion to command of a corps, his friend and superior William Hardee turned over his own corps to Cleburne during the short campaign that resulted in the Battle of Jonesboro, Ga. Unfortunately for various reasons Cleburne turned in a poor performance on that particular occasion, and it's just possible that although a stellar division commander he may have - in the concept of The Peter Principle - reached his own personal level of incompetence.
 
Vote Here:
Alpheus Williams was a solid Union commander whose career as a division commander in the XII Corps (and later as part of Sherman's army), performed consistently and effectively at places like Culp's Hill in Gettysburg and during the Atlanta Campaign. Although he assumed temporary Corps command at times, he was never promoted to permanent command most likely because he was not a "professionally trained" soldier, and he lacked the political skills that were often necessary to gain advancement.
Williams did exceptionally well at both Cedar Mountain and Antietam, especially when he temporarily replaced the mortally wounded Mansfield as commander of the Twelfth Corps at the latter battle.
 
Vote Here:
Although his stance concerning use of black troops and their subsequent emancipation prevented Cleburne's "official" promotion to command of a corps, his friend and superior William Hardee turned over his own corps to Cleburne during the short campaign that resulted in the Battle of Jonesboro, Ga. Unfortunately for various reasons Cleburne turned in a poor performance on that particular occasion, and it's just possible that although a stellar division commander he may have - in the concept of The Peter Principle - reached his own personal level of incompetence.

I've thought that about Cleburne a bit, too.

John Bell Hood is a classic example of the Peter Principle. An outstanding brigade commander, a good division commander, a mediocre corps commander, and a walking disaster as an army commander.
 
Vote Here:
Col. Robert (Black Bob) McCulloch of the 2nd MO. Cav, CSA.
Supposidly his promotion to a generalship was laying on Jeff. Davis's desk awaiting his signature as Richmond was being evacuated in 1865, so the paper was never signed. As early as 1863, he had been recommended for promotion several times, but it never took place.
Beat me to it Booner. I agree
 
Vote Here:
One officer I think we today should praise a lot more is Samuel Cooper.

Since he was already the highest ranking CSA officer (He outranked Lee) it would have been hard to promote him... and the action I think he should be recognized for was not really a military decision... and done as Richmond was falling.

But he made sure to transfer as much of the csa war department archives as possible to wagons and made sure to protect them until he could turn them over to the federals war department.

Without this action our sources for the war would be a lot less complete and as such our understanding of events would be one less firm basis.
 
Vote Here:
One officer I think we today should praise a lot more is Samuel Cooper.

Since he was already the highest ranking CSA officer (He outranked Lee) it would have been hard to promote him... and the action I think he should be recognized for was not really a military decision... and done as Richmond was falling.

But he made sure to transfer as much of the csa war department archives as possible to wagons and made sure to protect them until he could turn them over to the federals war department.

Without this action our sources for the war would be a lot less complete and as such our understanding of events would be one less firm basis.

I was under the impression that John C. Breckinridge was mostly responsible for this.
 
Vote Here:
Back
Top