McClellan McClellan

[rbasin]

I wouldn't want to assume, actually. It's possible, but by no means certain.

Maintaining discipline for a new army is a fairly tricky subject - you want to give the impression the rules matter and must be followed, but you also don't want the army united in their resentment of you unless you're confident it won't result in a lack of performance.

The story with Bragg is that he executed a soldier every day he was in command. Or so a few sources say.

 

[Saphroneth]

The story with Bragg is that he executed a soldier every day he was in command. Or so a few sources say.

That sounds like either a simplification or an exaggeration - even if he did execute hundreds of soldiers per year, there'd have to be days when there were more and days when there were less (i.e. none). Unless he made it a rule to always execute at least one person per day, in which case that instead makes it seem like he'd get a pretty major mutiny.

Given what the volunteers were like in some cases, though, I could see a perception that harsh justice would be needed. The absenteeism rate in all Civil War armies was consistently ridiculous.

 

[eeric]

And we have a Fort Bragg to this day for some reason : ) Oh and a Fort Hood........

 

[eeric]

And no Fort McClellan strangely

 

[Saphroneth]

And we have a Fort Bragg to this day for some reason : ) Oh and a Fort Hood........

Blame the Lost Cause for that one, I think; all the forts named for Confederate generals were created during the World Wars.

And no Fort McClellan strangely

There used to be, also named that in WW1; it closed in 1999. It was a training camp, which is fairly fitting.

 

[Rebforever]

Camp Pickett was later changed to Fort Pickett in Virginia.

 

[Georgia]

And no Fort McClellan strangely

Found this mention in one of my Daddy's WWII newspapers this morning. Hope it's ok to share as it touches on the topic but not the era.