Jabe Shepherd
Cadet
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2019
The CSA wins due to Union exhaustion in 1865
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Notwithstanding the lack of adequate parameters to the question, the first name that comes to mind is R.E. Lee. He had the temperament, ability, and public support to be a good president.
Most likely candidate. Also served as Sec. of War.First name to come to mind is John Breckinridge. Proved himself as a general and was ex vise president.
There was a greater chance of a general becoming president of the Union after Lincoln was shot - if Sherman and Grant had been more ambitious and less patriotic! Sherman was sitting outside Washington a short time later with a victorious army dead loyal to him thinking about cleaning out the rats' nests in the government.
The Confederacy had slapped together a government of its own and, really, owed what stability it had to the personality of Jefferson Davis. He was a first class control freak. Considering how the AoT and every other general to a lesser or greater degree fought among themselves, it may not have been a good trait for nation-building but it was for just holding the ship together. It was entirely possible that a totally off the wall, random element might have taken charge - like JO Shelby, or Bedford Forrest. Not sure about Shelby's political clout, but Forrest had plenty in his corner.
But didn't Grant run in the next election? pretty ambitious to me.
One of the Confederates' best opportunities to turn the tide of the war was at Chickamauga. Totally destroying Rosecrans' army could start a chain of events that would end with the Union exhaustion cited in the OP, and the great hero of Confederate independence would be - Braxton Bragg!!
He did - I was talking about just taking over. Both had very loyal armies...who may or may not have backed them!
One of the Confederates' best opportunities to turn the tide of the war was at Chickamauga. Totally destroying Rosecrans' army could start a chain of events that would end with the Union exhaustion cited in the OP, and the great hero of Confederate independence would be - Braxton Bragg!!