Most Beloved Generals

[WJC]

This is a tough list to make, as there are many variables in the criteria, not the least of which is time.
Certainly, at the end of the war, Grant was 'hands down' the most popular US general. McClellan was certainly very popular while in command, but less so afterward. Sherman, Meade, Thomas, and Sheridan were extremely popular at various times during and most certainly after the war.
I believe it safe to say that Lee was the "most beloved" rebel general, and perhaps the most beloved in either army. His stature only increased over the years, mostly because he was naturally a 'likable' man, but also because of our natural tendency to admire those who 'give it their all' and come up short. Then, too, he had a particularly active 'fanbase' in the 'Lost Cause' movement. One has to rank both Jackson and Longstreet in this 'beloved' category, even though for a time Longstreet was out of favor.
If one goes by what the veterans said, Rosencranse and Forrest most certainly belong in the mix.

 

[gary]

I think they even disliked Jackson - but they respected him.

I think that depends on what time in the war. His men called him "Fool Tom" before he earned their respect. Union PoWs record the Confederates standing up and shouting, "Jackson or a rabbit?" Then they cheered when Jackson rode by. The Union PoWs were caught up in the enthusiasm and also cheered.

The same may be same for Marsh Bob. Granny Lee, King of Spades wasn't thought of much until he hammered McClellan back from Richmond and then went on to whip Pope at Second Manassas.

Wasn't JEB Stuart loved by his men?

 

[Cavalry Charger]

General John Sedgwick.

In one of his men's own words:

"Poor General Sedgwick is Dead! He was the only man in the Army I would have given my life for, and willingly I would have died for him. His death is the greatest loss that has been sustained by the Army during the War. He was worth more than the rest of the officers of the Whole Army put together. It seems like losing a Father to have poor "Uncle John" die, but he died like a soldier. No cowards were where he was, brave men only went as far as he. But why talk, we cannot bring him back. The whole victory seems dampened by the loss of our best and greatest General. God bless his ashes!" -

Capt. Jas. A. Sayles,
8th New York Cavalry,
3rd Division Cavalry Corps,
Army of the Potomac

 

[nc native]

Phil Sheridan hasn't been mentioned yet; I believe he was popular with his men. At Cedar
Creek, his men were cheering him on as he rode forward from his headquarters to rally them.
His response contains some profanity I will not repeat but he basically told them to stop cheering
and start fighting.

 

[archieclement]

I'm also a bit surprised that Nathan Bedford Forrest hasn't been nominated yet.

Old Pap was much revered by his men.

 

[Saint Jude]

I would certainly highly nominate General Lee and of course Longstreet but also include Patrick Cleburne, the Stonewall of the West. I would like to mention Generals John F. Reynolds and Oliver Otis Howard. Both generals had a different command style which was not always enduring to the troops. I would compare Howard's command style to that of General George S. Patton in which the troops did not necessarily "belove", by the definition sense, their commander but certainly had a tremendous amount of respect for him. Howard and Patton were very strict disciplinarians who followed every rule by the book. With regards to Howard, everyone automatically points to Chancellorsville as a damaging event in this man's growth as a general and commander but I would defy any expert to defend any corps from any other army placed in the same situation and circumstances as Howard and the 11th Corps and just see how differently that commander and his troops would have responded to the on rushing troops of Stonewall Jackson. With respect to General Reynolds, he was not only one of the most beloved and respected commanders by his own peers but of course by his very own soldiers until his untimely and tragic death on July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg. David.

"Christian General," thank you for standing up for "The Christian General." Howard was much more beloved by most of his men than historians have given him credit for. Typically, they have cherry-picked quotes about him and put the unfavorable ones in the text, while burying favorable ones in the footnotes or ignoring them altogether.

Howard always had some people serving under him who disliked him solely on the basis of his religion, and I think this has been true of many historians. (An example of the former is Abner Small (The Road to Richmond); an example of the latter is William McFeely (Yankee Stepfather).

Howard was not charismatic, and it took most people a while to get to know him. But if they made the effort, they soon learned, as Sherman did, that he was not only very competent general, but also a sincere Christian who wanted the best for his men.

 

[rbasin]

Thomas and Jackson. Then uncle Billy.

 

[Coonewah Creek]

I might throw Frank Cheatham into the mix. Despite his affection for "John Barleycorn" on occasion, from what I have read of him, he was very well-liked by the men in his Tennessee division in the AoT.

 

[Deleted User CS]

"Christian General," thank you for standing up for "The Christian General." Howard was much more beloved by most of his men than historians have given him credit for. Typically, they have cherry-picked quotes about him and put the unfavorable ones in the text, while burying favorable ones in the footnotes or ignoring them altogether.

Howard always had some people serving under him who disliked him solely on the basis of his religion, and I think this has been true of many historians. (An example of the former is Abner Small (The Road to Richmond); an example of the latter is William McFeely (Yankee Stepfather).

Howard was not charismatic, and it took most people a while to get to know him. But if they made the effort, they soon learned, as Sherman did, that he was not only very competent general, but also a sincere Christian who wanted the best for his men.

I have been seriously studying General Howard and the 11th Corps for more than four years. I have read everyone of his letters that are available for public consumption. I do my own research without relying on others unlike some so called historians. I have amassed a tremendous amount of primary source material, most of which I have not seen in any book or article on the 11th Corps or General Howard. My goal is to produce two very important articles for Gettysburg Magazine. I am very glad to see that you have taken an interest in General Howard and his Corps and questioning some of the material in the public arena which is quite frankly wrong. Some historians think that they alone have a monopoly on all the knowledge regarding the civil war and their versions should be the ones accepted by everyone without question. I hope you will continue to study and question those individuals who continue to contribute to the myth of General Howard and the 11th Corps. Keep Up the Good Fight. David.

 

[J. D. Stevens]

The past couple of years, I have read a number of books by various authors regarding the cavalry corps of the AOP after June 1863. The most consistent evidence which is brought out over and over is the devotions and respect the troopers of the Michigan Brigade had for their commander, Brig Gen George Armstrong Custer.

 

[Mortari]

Of the Confederacy, Cleburne gets my vote. Came out on top or held his ground in some of the biggest numerically outmatched battles against some very good generals.

Of the Union, the Georges. Thomas or Meade. Meade was just always there start to finish. Thomas didn't leave with Virginia and had a lot of success through KY and TN.

 

[OldReliable1862]

Despite how all of us armchair generals rip him to shreds with our keyboards a century and half later, Leonidas Polk - "Bishop Polk" - seems to have been loved by his men. Does anyone with more knowledge of him have any explanation for this?

 

[mofederal]

Although he is not a favorite general of mine, Sterling Price was beloved by his men. He seemed to be this father figure to them, and they followed him.

 

[John Hartwell]

The "love" of the troops is a strange animal. If you read much about IX Corps regiments you'll find that the men idolized Ambrose Burnside 'till the day they died -- they recognized his shortcomings, but loved him anyway.

 

[Saruman]

Despite how all of us armchair generals rip him to shreds with our keyboards a century and half later, Leonidas Polk - "Bishop Polk" - seems to have been loved by his men. Does anyone with more knowledge of him have any explanation for this?

"He was affable, self-possessed, and approachable. His soldiers were devoted to him."
- statement from a war correspondent in 1864

"Every private soldier loved him. When I saw him there dead, I felt that I had lost a friend whom I ever loved and respected, and that the South had lost one of her best and greatest generals. Bishop Polk was ever a favorite with the army; and when any position was to be held, and it was known that Bishop Polk was there, we knew and felt that all was well."
- Sam Watkins

 

[diane]

The "love" of the troops is a strange animal. If you read much about IX Corps regiments you'll find that the men idolized Ambrose Burnside 'till the day they died -- they recognized his shortcomings, but loved him anyway.

That is really true. Sometimes one might say no accounting for taste! Burnside is a puzzling general. It seems he would have been better being a businessman and an inventor. And there's the story of Lottie, who appears to have been picking petals off the loves me loves me not daisy as she was walking up the aisle... Burnside was no good at palace intrigue, either, which says a lot about his character. Soldiers pick up on those things very quickly.

August Willich and Von Gilsa also had the loyalty and respect of their men, who were mostly German immigrants - they understood the Prussian manner and felt comfortable with these commanders, who were very competent. The American Germans liked them, too. Willich was in command of such troops from the Midwest who were very happy with him - they were typical of Westerners, very tough and hard fighters, and they felt safe with an equally tough and hard fighting commander who valued them. Von Gilsa is hard to figure out since he didn't leave much to judge him by, but when he died of the climate in SC (hard to live in a humid country when you were born in a cold one!) in 1870, his veterans crowded to his funeral.

 

[Saint Jude]

I have been seriously studying General Howard and the 11th Corps for more than four years. I have read everyone of his letters that are available for public consumption. I do my own research without relying on others unlike some so called historians. I have amassed a tremendous amount of primary source material, most of which I have not seen in any book or article on the 11th Corps or General Howard. My goal is to produce two very important articles for Gettysburg Magazine. I am very glad to see that you have taken an interest in General Howard and his Corps and questioning some of the material in the public arena which is quite frankly wrong. Some historians think that they alone have a monopoly on all the knowledge regarding the civil war and their versions should be the ones accepted by everyone without question. I hope you will continue to study and question those individuals who continue to contribute to the myth of General Howard and the 11th Corps. Keep Up the Good Fight. David.

The best of luck with your articles! Please let me know when they come out. I have been interested in Howard for many years, not only for his part in the Civil War, but also for his role in Reconstruction and on the frontier, I, too have amassed a great deal of information from primary sources, which I would be happy to share with you if any of it would be useful to you.

 

[Will Carry]

Grant doesn't seem to be on the list. He wasn't there to make friends, he was there to defeat his enemy.

 

[diane]

Grant doesn't seem to be on the list. He wasn't there to make friends, he was there to defeat his enemy.

That's always interested me. They didn't figure out a colorful nickname, either - at least not one I'm aware of. Neither did Forrest's men - his nicknames came from the papers. He was just Ol' Bedford to his men! Not Uncle Bedford. No Uncle Ulyss, either! Think you're right - these two were there to fight and win, not to be anyone's buddy. In fact, Forrest had more than one man riding with him who would happily have shot him dead at any other time! (And vice versa, for that matter...)

 

[Irishtom29]

Grant doesn't seem to be on the list. He wasn't there to make friends, he was there to defeat his enemy.

I think Grant's westerners thought him businesslike and reliable and had confidence in him. Which was what they expected of a general. The westerners weren't big on cheering their generals. I've read that Sherman's men would call out to him— "Ho, Uncle Billy" and such. They liked him but probably didn't love him. Liking is better than loving anyway, It's a more reliable feeling.

Sherman was once asked why he didn't replace a battered hat and said if he did everywhere he went the soldiers would call out about his new hat. Reminds me of when a person in the trades buys new boots, everyone remarks on them—"Whoa, Tommy got some new Wings" and such.