{⋆★⋆} GEN Bragg, Braxton

Braxton Bragg​

Braxton Bragg was a career army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War. At the outbreak of the War Between the States, he became a member of the Confederate States Army and was assigned to duty at Richmond, under direction of the President Jefferson Davis. He took charge of the conduct of military operations of the armies of the Confederate States from February 24, 1864, until January 13, 1865, when he was charged with command and defense of Wilmington, North Carolina. He previously had command of an army in the Western Theater.

Born: March 22, 1817

Birthplace: Warrenton, North Carolina

Father: Thomas Bragg Sr. 1777 – 1863

(Buried: Howard Street Family Cemetery, Ocracoke, North Carolina​

Mother: Margaret Crossland 1784 – 1834

(Buried: Old Warrenton Cemetery, Warren Co., North Carolina)​

Wife: Eliza Brooks Ellis 1825 – 1908 (June 7, 1849)

(Buried: Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama)​

Brother: US Congressman John Bragg 1806 - 1878

(Buried: Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama)​

Brother: C.S. Attorney General Thomas Bragg 1810 - 1872

(Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina)​

Married: June 7, 1849 in Louisiana

Children: None

Education:

1837: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (5th​ in class)​

Occupation:

1837 – 1838: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 3rd​ Artillery​

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1838 – 1846: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 3rd​ Artillery​

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1846 – 1856: Captain United States Army, 3rd​ Artillery​

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1855: Offered Major of United States Army, 1st​ Cavalry but declined​

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1856: Resigned from United States Army on January 3rd​​

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1856 – 1861: Sugar Plantation Owner in Thibodaux, Louisiana​

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1860 – 1861: Member of Louisiana State Board of Public Works​

Civil War Career:

1861: Colonel of Louisiana State Militia​

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1861: Major General of Louisiana State Militia​

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1861: Commander of the Department of Louisiana​

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1861: Brigadier General in the Confederate Army Infantry​

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1861: Commanding General of Pensacola, Florida​

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1861 – 1862: Major General in the Confederate Army Infantry​

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1862: Commanding General of Army of the Mississippi​

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1862: Commanding General 2nd​ Army Corps Army of the Mississippi​

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1862 – 1865: General of Confederate Army Infantry​

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1862 – 1863: Commanding General Department of the Mississippi​

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1862 – 1863: Commanding General Army of Tennessee​

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1863: Commanding General Department of Tennessee​

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1864: Military Advisor to President Jefferson Davis​

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1864 – 1865: Commanding General Department of North Carolina​

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1865: Surrendered at Durham Station, Durham, North Carolina​

Occupation after War:

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Superintendent of New Orleans, Louisiana, Waterworks​

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Insurance Agent for Carolina Life Insurance Company​

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Civilian Engineer for the city of Mobile, Alabama​

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Chief Engineer of Gulf, Colorado, & Santa Fe Railroad Company​

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Texas State Inspector of Railroads​

Died: September 27, 1876

Place of Death: Galveston, Texas

Cause of Death: Degeneration of Cerebral Blood Vessels

Age at time of Death: 59 years old

Burial Place: Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday General Bragg! Remembering General Bragg on his birthday.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday General Braxton Bragg! Salutes remembering General Bragg on his birthday.

 

[Norman Dasinger Jr]

BRAGG LIVES ON - I wrote this a few years ago


Two Texas Ghost Stories

And Their Connection to Civil War General Bragg

by Norman Dasinger Jr



Braxton Bragg grew up in North Carolina. The rumor was his mother was in prison for killing a free Black man and she gave birth to him there.



Young Braxton was a smart boy. He managed to get to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated fifth in 1837 class. He served bravely in the Mexican War and returned to his hometown a hero receiving cheers from the very people that had maligned him for his family history while growing up.



Soon, he met the daughter of a rich Louisiana sugar cane plantation owner – Eliza Ellis. They were married and Bragg decided to leave the army. He resigned and moved to Thibodaux and bought a 1,600 acre sugar cane plantation of his own. He used his superior talents of organization to make the endeavor profitable.



When Louisiana seceded from the United States, Bragg was made a brigadier general in the new Confederate States Army and commanded the Department of West Florida headquartered in Pensacola. Following the battle of Shiloh, he was made a full general and given command of the Army of Tennessee. He led a campaign into Kentucky and his soldiers fought at the battles of Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Chickamauga, Georgia. By December of 1863, Bragg was removed from army command and given an advisory role in Richmond's War Department.



On May 9, 1865, Bragg was captured near Monticello, Georgia and upon his release he moved into his brother's house in Lowndesboro, Alabama. His plantation in Louisiana was gone – having been made into a Freedmen's Bureau Colony. He tried to be an insurance salesman and pondered the offer to join the Egyptian Army in 1870. Finally, in 1871, he took a job as the head engineer for Alabama's Port Authority in Mobile. He grew tired of the bureaucracy of state government and took a job with the Gulf, Colorado and Sante Fe Railroad in Texas in 1874. Ultimately he was made chief inspector of all railroads in Texas.



On September 27, 1876, he was walking down a street with a friend in Galveston when he collapsed from a massive heart attack and was dead within minutes.



There is a long time legend that on the very spot he collapsed and on the anniversary of his death, a golden orb of light hangs over the ground. The locals call it 'Bragg's Light'.



Also, to honor the man, the railroad company he worked for named a new town after him in 1901- called Bragg. Today, that former rail line is now a desolate county road and folks periodically see a moving light that appears at different locations along the former rail line. This phenomenon, near Saratoga, Texas is called the 'Bragg Road Ghost Light' and has become a popular tourist attraction in Hardin County.



The legend of Confederate General Bragg lives today among the Ghost Stories of Texas.

 

[Pollaco]

I've always liked the story of how one of "his fans" put a bomb under his cot.That and the story of how, as Quartermaster, he carried on a disagreement with himself in correspondence for some request. As a company commander he made the request for materials but as Quartermaster he had to deny it. I'd like to hear some details on that one.The book telling of that event I cannot seem to locate at the moment.

 

[USS ALASKA]

BRAXTON BRAGG ON LEADERSHIP: A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY ON LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE IN THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
By Robert Daniel Stinson

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Education
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
May 2013
Copyright © 2013
By Robert Daniel Stinson
All Rights Reserved

ABSTRACT
This historical case study was designed to analyze and describe the quality of the relationships between one historical, military commander, GEN Braxton Bragg, commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, and his senior lieutenants, through the lens of a contemporary, relationship-centered model of leadership dynamics, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX). The results of this research fill a void in the examination of historical leadership in light of contemporary theoretical frameworks. In addition, this study enables organizational leaders, from a variety of contexts, to identify the various dynamics between leader-member relationships that influence perceptions of organizational justice, trust, and loyalty.

The literature review (1) discusses the legitimacy of history as a source of leadership insight, (2) details the context for the emergence of LMX as a credible relationship-based theoretical framework, (3) identifies the distinctive features of LMX, and (4) anticipates how those features were evidenced in the historical context of the tenure of Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee during the most critical days of its history, most notably the 1863 campaigns for Chattanooga. Through a content analysis of the historical record, including the primary source record and seminal secondary sources, the interactions between Bragg and the senior members of his command are analyzed, using the LMX-MDM scale, and synthesized into a general LMX-informed description of the command climate of the Army of Tennessee during Bragg's tenure.

While historians have tended to classify officers within the Army of Tennessee as either pro-Bragg or anti-Bragg, the findings indicate a much more complex command climate, with several officers demonstrating indications of anti-Bragg (i.e., out-group) sentiment, several indicating pro-Bragg (i.e., in-group) sentiment, and several demonstrating features of both.

While there are myriad reasons for the emergence of out-group and in-group sentiment, it is believed that this synthesis provides contemporary leaders with a model for examining leader-follower relationships within their own organizational settings, as well as with a series of lessons that might inform leadership preparation programs and, in the interest of promoting organizational effectiveness, instruct current leaders in better management of the quality of their relationships with members of their organizations.

https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1543&context=theses

There was no 'free and open access' statement with this paper so please use above link.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[ErnieMac]

 

[Belfoured]

I've always liked the story of how one of "his fans" put a bomb under his cot.That and the story of how, as Quartermaster, he carried on a disagreement with himself in correspondence for some request. As a company commander he made the request for materials but as Quartermaster he had to deny it. I'd like to hear some details on that one.The book telling of that event I cannot seem to locate at the moment.

The QM story came from Grant in his Memoirs. It may or may not be true, but even if it isn't it sounds like something Bragg could have done. Similar in that respect to Grant's own "lick 'em tomorrow, though" statement to Sherman after the disastrous first day a Shiloh. There's never been solid proof Grant actually made the statement, but it certainly sounds like something he could have said.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Journal Article
OPEN ACCESS
BRAXTON BRAGG AND THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
Thomas Robson Hay
The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4 (DECEMBER, 1925), pp. 267-316

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40575831

Open access - no log-in needed to above link.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[USS ALASKA]

STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT
BRAXTON BRAGG - MILITARY STRATEGIST
LIEUTENANT COLONEL FRANK B. BRAGG, JR.
United States Army
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
USAWC CLASS OF 1998
U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE, CARLISLE BARRACKS, PA 17013-5050

ABSTRACT
Braxton Bragg progressed through a diverse and demanding career to become a military strategist and ultimately General-in-Chief of Confederate States of America (CSA) Armies. General Braxton Bragg devoted over four years, of his life to senior CSA Army leadership positions, mostly in command. He surpassed every general officer in the CSA and Union in holding such a wide range of senior officer responsibilities. Bragg observed closely and operated in and around the operational and strategic environment for the majority of his life. By virtue of his previous duties, assignments, and experiences, Bragg observed, participated in, and influenced hundreds of meetings and decisions that are best described as "strategic art." He developed his strategic competencies through civilian and military education; an honorable, diverse, demanding, and rare service and assignment history; and life-threatening experiences that only a few would ever taste. Braxton Bragg strategized with the best experts of his day.

https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA342247.pdf

Glowing report...I wonder if the author is any relation...

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

that are best described as "strategic art

That makes me wonder too!

 

[Pollaco]

General-in-Chief of the Confederate States of America??

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

The effectiveness of the Army of Tennesse was greatly injured by Braggs disputes with His subordinates which include Polk, Longstreet, Hardee, and Forrest.

Amen.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Morale was low during the Siege at Chattanooga. Confederates were in as bad, really worse shape than the Federals. Bragg used this time to punish his detractors. TN Troops had been with Cheatham since the beginning of the War. Patton Anderson was one of the first to Break at Missionary Ridge. A lot of the Low Morale Tennesseans were there. Cheatham had been absent, he returned the evening before the Assault. He was actually north on the ridge, close to Hardee. Morale problems had a lot to do with Missionary Ridge. Other Problems, no doubt.

Hardee despised Bragg. Most of it due to the KY Campaign. He leaves at Tullahoma, goes to organize the Vicksburg Paroles. He is absent at Chickamauga. Hardee is the best Corps Commander the AOT had. He was the most qualified to do the job. However he was replace by Hill, who came from the ANV. Hill was a disaster. Hardee comes back and replaces Polk at Chattanooga.

So, personal problems had a lot to do with the AOT's demise.

Additionally, Bragg's army was HUNGRY - although Bragg had a million pounds of salted pork and other meats in a warehouse in north Georgia. Eventually, upon retreating in haste the rear guard of Bragg's army (Cleburne's men I believe) had to burn the warehouse still full of meat.