Hancock the Superb, Where Does He Rank?
"He has been called the greatest general of the war, save only Grant and Sherman, though obviously partisans of Thomas and Sheridan and a handful of others might dispute that opinion."
Winfield Scott Hancock by David Jordan
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Hancock was without a doubt one of the ablest commanders of the war. At Williamsburg, he helped turn the tide of the battle earning himself the nickname "the superb". At Fredericksburg, he cautioned Burnside and predicted the impending disaster. Gettysburg was his finest moment, his efforts at Cemetary Hill and during Pickett's charge did more to win the battle than perhaps any other man. During the Overland campaign, his Corps proved the most capable in the army of the Potomac pushing back Confederate forces at both the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. In his final actions of the war, Hancock suffered a rare defeat at Ream's Station, less to due with Hancock's generalship and more to do with the attritioned state of his corps, but redeemed himself at the engagement of Boydton Plank Road. I view Hancock as one of the most skilled tacticans of the war but he wasn't on par with Grant, Sherman, McClellan or Lee at the strategic or operational level.
Curious as to opinions on Winfield Scott Hancock and where you think he ranks as a general. Where does he rank among his fellow Union generals and his Confederate adversaries? Would any of you be bold enough to list him as the third best general of the war? How do you see him matching up against the likes of Thomas, Reynolds, Meade, Hooker, Sheridan, McPherson or Cleburne, Hood, Hardee, A.P. Hill, Jackson, Longstreet?