Hood and McLaws not returning to ANV

[JerryD]

One topic has always been a bit vague to me is the circumstances under which Hood and McLaws did not return to the ANV when the First Corps did. I know Hood was wounded, and that McLaws faced a court martial, of course. But it seems odd they did not return to the ANV after these issues were dealt with. Especially since this was a time when experienced generals were starting to become somewhat scarce in the ANV.

McLaws was ultimately cleared of his charges by Cooper, but instead of resuming his position at the head of his division he was assigned to Savannah. Why? Did Lee not want him back? Did Longstreet push for him to be assigned elsewhere? McLaws always seemed like a solid if unspectacular division commander to me. I always assumed lingering animosity between him and Longstreet may have been the reason, but have not seen any confirmation of this speculation. And of course, the history of the ANV is full of officers serving under or with officers with whom they have been in dispute.

Hood is even more vague to me. After he healed (and his courtship was famously rejected by Buck Buchanan) he was promoted and kept with the AOT instead of sent back to the ANV. Was this a function of merely finding a spot commensurate with his new grade? Was he ever considered for the Second Corps command after Ewell was re-assigned? Again, was this merely a function of Lee not wanting/trusting him to command a Corps?

Lee had a well earned rep of getting rid of officers he did not trust. Are McLaws and Hood in that group?

 

[RedRover]

Hood recovered from his Gettysburg/Chickamauga wounds at Richmond in the winter of 1863-64. He was frequently visited by Jefferson Davis. Davis promoted Hood to lieutenant general and gave him a corps in the Army of Tennessee in early 1864, etc. The only way to promote him in this manner was to send him west.

McLaws, said later that General Longstreet was pressing for either his contrition or transfer... McLaws was found guilty by court martial, but his sentence thrown out, and he reassigned to the Dept. of SC, GA & FL, etc.

 

[Jamieva]

McLaws was still under going court martial when the Overland started. Lee had soured on him after Salem Chirch so the incident in Tennessee would have buried any hope that Lee would want him back.

Hood as previously noted was a Davis decision

 

[JerryD]

McLaws was still under going court martial when the Overland started. Lee had soured on him after Salem Chirch so the incident in Tennessee would have buried any hope that Lee would want him back.

Hood as previously noted was a Davis decision

So did Davis overrule Lee? Or was Lee uninterested in having him back. And if it was a Davis decision, was Davis already thinking of Hood as a future army commander at this point, assuming Johnston would perform poorly and would need to be replaced? It just strikes as odd that Hood, who up to this point had performed pretty well as a division commander, was not returned to the ANV after he healed.

 

[RaggedAssSecond]

In March 1862 Davis vetoed a bill to create a Commander in Chief for the Army and selected General Lee to be his military advisor.They formed a close relationship and Davis relied on Lee for counsel until the end of the war. So Davis had the final say on this matter.

 

[Jamieva]

So did Davis overrule Lee? Or was Lee uninterested in having him back. And if it was a Davis decision, was Davis already thinking of Hood as a future army commander at this point, assuming Johnston would perform poorly and would need to be replaced? It just strikes as odd that Hood, who up to this point had performed pretty well as a division commander, was not returned to the ANV after he healed.

Hood was nominated to promotion by Longstreet when he's wounded at Chickamauga. So he's a lieutenant general which means a corps command. There's no corps for him in the ANV at the time of his promotion

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

So did Davis overrule Lee? Or was Lee uninterested in having him back. And if it was a Davis decision, was Davis already thinking of Hood as a future army commander at this point, assuming Johnston would perform poorly and would need to be replaced? It just strikes as odd that Hood, who up to this point had performed pretty well as a division commander, was not returned to the ANV after he healed.

I don't think Lee had Corp command for him to return to. I'm sure he would have loved to have him in division command after he healed but instead David promoted him.

 

[JerryD]

Hood was nominated to promotion by Longstreet when he's wounded at Chickamauga. So he's a lieutenant general which means a corps command. There's no corps for him in the ANV at the time of his promotion

I'm aware there was no corps available, but in short order Ewell would be sent away from the ANV and Early was given command of the Second Corps. I know Hood was a stranger to the Second Corps, but he was a West Point trained officer who had fought valiantly as a division commander. You'd think if Lee wanted, he would have asked for Hood instead of putting in Early who was an amateur. Also, I may be wrong, but usually people were not promoted to Lt. General and then they look for a command to suit the grade. Normally it was different. That there was a command and the person put into the position was given the promotion. At least that is my understanding. So there was no need to promote Hood unless there was an opening. Admittedly, I have not looked deeply into this with respect to Hood's specific circumstances.

 

[JerryD]

In March 1862 Davis vetoed a bill to create a Commander in Chief for the Army and selected General Lee to be his military advisor.They formed a close relationship and Davis relied on Lee for counsel until the end of the war. So Davis had the final say on this matter.

Oh, of course. I have no doubt on that. But in general Davis was usually willing to defer to Lee on personnel issues unless Davis had a very good reason to overrule him.

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

Oh, of course. I have no doubt on that. But in general Davis was usually willing to defer to Lee on personnel issues unless Davis had a very good reason to overrule him.

I'm pretty certain Early had seniority over Hood. There was no way he'd jump Hood over Early especially once Early was familiar with 2nd Corps.

 

[JerryD]

I'm pretty certain Early had seniority over Hood. There was no way he'd jump Hood over Early especially once Early was familiar with 2nd Corps.

When the opening occurred in May 1864, Hood was already a Lieutenant General. Early did not become one until after he was appointed to the position. So Hood had seniority.

 

[jackt62]

Longstreet blamed McLaws for the failed assault on Ft. Sanders during the Knoxville Campaign. Although McLaws was generally exonerated by court-martial, the bad blood between the 2 officers likely meant that Lee deferred to Longstreet regarding Lee's opinion of McLaws. That, plus Lee's previously negative judgement of McLaws, were reason enough to preclude McLaws' re-assignment to the ANV.

 

[JerryD]

Longstreet blamed McLaws for the failed assault on Ft. Sanders during the Knoxville Campaign. Although McLaws was generally exonerated by court-martial, the bad blood between the 2 officers likely meant that Lee deferred to Longstreet regarding Lee's opinion of McLaws. That, plus Lee's previously negative judgement of McLaws, were reason enough to preclude McLaws' re-assignment to the ANV.

Yeah, this is pretty much what I was thinking. Although I havent seen any specific references from the parties to support my supposition.

 

[uaskme]

Bragg wanted Hood. JJ looked forward to him coming. Davis wanted Hood to convince JJ to do a Spring Offensive that Richmond wanted, Davis and Bragg. So Davis sent Hood to Dalton.

Longstreet refused to let McLaws server under him. So it was pretty much either him or me.

 

[JerryD]

Bragg wanted Hood. JJ looked forward to him coming. Davis wanted Hood to convince JJ to do a Spring Offensive that Richmond wanted, Davis and Bragg. So Davis sent Hood to Dalton.

Do you have any sources for these statements? Would love to see them. I always understood that Johnston did not want him, but I dont know where I got that impression and I might be wrong on that.

 

[rpkennedy]

I'm pretty certain Early had seniority over Hood. There was no way he'd jump Hood over Early especially once Early was familiar with 2nd Corps.

Hood was senior to Early. Hood was made a major general on October 10, 1862 and Early was promoted on January 17, 1863.

Ryan

 

[Jamieva]

When the opening occurred in May 1864, Hood was already a Lieutenant General. Early did not become one until after he was appointed to the position. So Hood had seniority.

But Hood had already taken another command

 

[Nathan Stuart]

McLaws was ultimately cleared of his charges by Cooper, but instead of resuming his position at the head of his division he was assigned to Savannah. Why? Did Lee not want him back?

Douglas Freeman in 'Lee's Lieutenants' (@ p. 693) put forward three possible reasons why Lee did not want McLaws back in his army, following the dismissal of charges against the latter on May 4.

Freeman reasoned:-
. Lee believed that when Longstreet returned from his recent May 6 wounds, that he (Longstreet) and McLaws would not be able to work together;
. Lee believed Kershaw had handled McLaws's old division with sufficient skill and success, so that there was not now a need to replace him; &
. Lee was probably never enamored with McLaws as a division commander, because his record in this role was one of inconsistent promptness and only average success.

Accordingly, Lee replied to Bragg's recommendation for McLaws's return by stating, 'I request that Gen. McLaws be not ordered to this army, but assigned to duty elsewhere.'

Thought these were all patently sound reasons proposed by Freeman to explain Lee's rejection.

 

[Luke Freet]

One topic has always been a bit vague to me is the circumstances under which Hood and McLaws did not return to the ANV when the First Corps did. I know Hood was wounded, and that McLaws faced a court martial, of course. But it seems odd they did not return to the ANV after these issues were dealt with. Especially since this was a time when experienced generals were starting to become somewhat scarce in the ANV.

McLaws was ultimately cleared of his charges by Cooper, but instead of resuming his position at the head of his division he was assigned to Savannah. Why? Did Lee not want him back? Did Longstreet push for him to be assigned elsewhere? McLaws always seemed like a solid if unspectacular division commander to me. I always assumed lingering animosity between him and Longstreet may have been the reason, but have not seen any confirmation of this speculation. And of course, the history of the ANV is full of officers serving under or with officers with whom they have been in dispute.

Hood is even more vague to me. After he healed (and his courtship was famously rejected by Buck Buchanan) he was promoted and kept with the AOT instead of sent back to the ANV. Was this a function of merely finding a spot commensurate with his new grade? Was he ever considered for the Second Corps command after Ewell was re-assigned? Again, was this merely a function of Lee not wanting/trusting him to command a Corps?

Lee had a well earned rep of getting rid of officers he did not trust. Are McLaws and Hood in that group?

On Hood: Simply put, he got promoted. It was not a sign that his talents were not appreciated and he was "sidelined". The Army of Tennessee was an important army in the Confederacy, and was in need of new officers (doesn't help that Davis had soured on much of the army's senior officers due to their constant whining and moaning since its inception, mostly in regard to Bragg but that's a discussion for a different thread). Hood was given a promotion, something he couldn't be given if he remained with Lee in the east (maybe he'd have gotten Ewell's Corps in June once Ewell gets sideline but that's doubtful).

As far as I'm aware, there was never any serious consideration to have Hood recalled back to Virginia, to replace any of Lee's officers. This is not because Lee & Longstreet & and Confederate apparatus didn't think highly of Hood's ability; he was tied down commanding troops in the field in Georgia.

In short, no, Hood wasn't exiled by Lee.

As for McLaws...I can't fully get into the meat of that situation. I am not the best expert on McLaws' performance in the Eastern Theater, but his performance in East Tennessee was good, and the accusations Longstreet levelled against him were unfounded. McLaws was cleared of charges by May 7th 1864, when he offered his services to Lee. Lee declined, and so he remained on duty along the Georgia coast.

I do not fully understand why McLaws was sidelined as he was. As far as I've read, he was a good division commander, though there's some questions regarding his abilities as an independent commander stemming from Chancellorsville which I am not an expert on. When he offered his services after his clearing to Lee, he was turned down, despite Longstreet having been wounded and out of the picture, his division under the temporary command of Brigadier Kershaw, and Lee having to do serious reshuffling of his officers following the Wilderness fight.

What confounds me further is that McLaws took no part in the Atlanta Campaign. From the correspondence in the O.R.s, Johnston & Hood call upon the services of a circus of officers; among the officers they requested for commands were Mansfield Lovell, Edward Johnson, William Whiting, James J. Archer, & Ambrose Wright. After General William Shotpuch Walker was killed at Atlanta, his Georgian Division was disbanded; no thought was given to bringing in McLaws to command it or the other openings in the army which opened throughout the campaign.

 

[Luke Freet]

Do you have any sources for these statements? Would love to see them. I always understood that Johnston did not want him, but I dont know where I got that impression and I might be wrong on that.

McMurry's biography on Hood, and plenty of other works on the campaign show that Johnston thought highly of General Hood, at least until June 1864. They had served together previously when Johnston had commanded the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862. Hood was essentially Johnston's right hand man between February and May. They'd constantly ride together along the lines and discuss strategy. Whenever Johnston attempted an offensive movement during the Atlanta Campaign (mostly in the month of May), it was always Hood's Corps assigned to lead the effort. Indeed, I've seen reasonable arguments that Johnston's few offensive actions during the campaign were at the urging of Hood, and Johnston stopped any serious attempt at offensive tactics after his falling out with Hood at the end of May.