"Bragg was an officer of undoubted qualities. He was hardworking, meticulous, detail-oriented, and extremely self-disciplined. The intense way he did everything led him to burn out in his job of guiding the main Confederate field army in the West. Bragg also held the world up to his own standard and had little regard for those who did not meet that very high mark. He had a strong tendency to act with energy and aggression when dealing with tactical problems–his actions at Perryville, Stones River, Tullahoma, and Chickamauga indicate he was by no means afraid to attack the enemy. In the beginning of his tenure as commander of the main Confederate army in the west, at least, he also planned bold strategic offensives. Bragg's chief failure in the Civil War lay on the personal level rather than in the military sphere. He saw life in black-and-white terms, had scant ability to accept the complexities to be found in others, and possessed a stubborn streak that served him ill in his relations with subordinates. He had no tact in dealing with newspaper correspondents and only clumsily tried to manipulate his public image or ingratiate himself with politicians. If not for Jefferson Davis's keen appreciation for his talents, Bragg would have had no important supporter in Richmond. When Bragg unwisely began to challenge his generals to demonstrate whether they supported him, his effectiveness rapidly declined. Their frank admission that he ought to be replaced merely sparked the stubbornness in him. Bragg desperately held on to a command that he sometimes wanted to give up, out of sheer determination to impose the sort of discipline on others he demanded of himself. This course of action benefited no one in the end. Despite this, Bragg retained the support of far more men in his army than historians tend to admit. His record of success while shaping the Army of Tennessee and leading it longer than any other individual was severely tarnished and corrupted by the controversies that erupted from his ill-advised dealings with recalcitrant officers. Bragg was not responsible for Confederate defeat, nor was he a monster or an imbecile. It is true he had some glaring weaknesses, but he also had admirable strengths. His impact on history was mixed but important, and it is time to attempt a balanced view of it." [Earl Hess, Braxton Bragg: The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy, pp. xix-xx]
A strict disciplinarian, Bragg was successful in his first stint as commander of a confederate force in Pensacola. "He was in his element as a commander at Pensacola, responsible for a small enough army so that his personal stamp could be put on the men under his tutelage. Although a few of Bragg's subordinates resented his methods, most of them understood that they were necessary and became firm supporters of their commander. The same methods would be far more difficult to apply to a larger force, as Bragg would soon discover, but the Confederates had to work with incredibly raw material in forming a volunteer army at short notice, and Bragg's methods worked well." [Ibid., p. 27]
The soldiers he led at Pensacola would be among his most loyal supporters, along with his staff officers–those who saw him and interacted with him on a daily basis and who saw his tender side. Unfortunately, his subordinate commanders would prove to be less than the most reliable subordinates. Unlike what Robert E. Lee enjoyed in Virginia, Bragg had to contend with subordinate commanders who insubordinately disobeyed orders and rebelled against his command.
"Bragg was neither a hapless fool nor a brilliant general. He failed more often than succeeded in his Civil War career. He also was not the ogre who callously executed his own soldiers, nor was he friendless or cold toward his wife. Public opinion in and out of the army shaped Bragg's image, making of him 'the best-abused man in the world.' Most editors and newspaper correspondents were far too ready to brand him as incompetent, tyrannical, or marked by a lack of good fortune. In turn, Bragg did not know how to deal with them except with contempt. … He did not have the political savvy to pull strings except to call on Davis to support him in controversies with his subordinates. That was a rather crude and heavy-handed way of dealing with recalcitrant officers, and he could not apply it to newspaper correspondents." [Ibid., p. 266]
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