Most Under appreciated Confederate General

@Gflintham1790. A sword fight between Hampton and Sheridan! Hadn't heard that one. Thanks for posting that. Your right, they don't make movies about this stuff, but maybe they should.

John
 
True, although one campaign against the B-team doesn't prove a lot.



Agreed. I've heard it argued he was even better than Stuart. Regardless, he was one of the best cavalry generals of the war and seems to be mostly appreciated during the war, but I doubt many people today know his name unless they are a Civil War buff. Maybe in his home state of South Carolina, and even then perhaps more for his postwar political career.
A campaign against the C Team vaulted Stonewall into prominence.
 
Gen. Josiah Gorgas seems to be appreciated in that circle of historians and Civil War buffs with a special interest in ordnance and logistics, but not so much to a broader public. I know I had never heard of him until I started reading this forum.

I may be wrong, but I don't believe there are any monuments to Gorgas anywhere.
 
I'll nominate Wade Hampton. He always led from the front and was highly reliable when following orders. He was one of the first to make good use of dismounted cavalry. He fought well at Trevilian Station. After the death of Jeb Stuart he did a very capable job of commanding the cavalry of the ANV under very difficult circumstances.

All true, but I doubt Hampton has been underappreciated. He had a very successful postwar career as a politician and there is even a marble figure of him in the national Capitol's Statuary Hall. In the many, many references to his military career that I have seem he always gets high marks. He is an icon in his home state of South Carolina.
 
Although I believe the generalship of Braxton Bragg, has, generally, been propertly appreciated, I sometimes think his contribution to extending the confederacys war in the west by at least a year, with his invasion of Ky in 1862, has been properly appreciated., On that basis, Baggs contribution to confederate war for independence has ot, IMO, been properly appreciated.
 
Gen. Josiah Gorgas seems to be appreciated in that circle of historians and Civil War buffs with a special interest in ordnance and logistics, but not so much to a broader public. I know I had never heard of him until I started reading this forum.

Logistics are underappreciated in general.

Although I believe the generalship of Braxton Bragg, has, generally, been propertly appreciated, I sometimes think his contribution to extending the confederacys war in the west by at least a year, with his invasion of Ky in 1862, has been properly appreciated., On that basis, Baggs contribution to confederate war for independence has ot, IMO, been properly appreciated.

I think Bragg is underappreciated, but only because the bar is so low. Mediocre general with good organizational skills and terrible people skills served poorly by those immediately above, below, and adjacent to him. But not the incompetent marionette he's often portrayed as.
 
Braxton Bragg is definitely underappreciated?! In fact, he was downright despised, by both the South and the North. He has be very unfairly treated by history. His rehabilitation began about 30 yrs ago with Woodworth's Jefferson Davis and His Generals and other articles. His KY campaign, which happened at the same time virtually the Lee was invading MD, transformed the war from where it had been in the late Spr. The his defense of central TN right thru most of '63 delayed the Union push into the deep South back to '64. Murfreesboro was one of the sharpest fights of the war, and was a close run thing, but did not push Bragg out of TN. Tullahoma did, but then Chickamauga flipped the entire strategic situation. Lincoln was fit to be tied. Sherman dropped all and started marching his 30K from Vicksburg; Hooker brought 18K from VA. The entire North was completely panicked. For a variety of reasons, the siege, which was never complete, was raised but the Yanks still could not get past Resaca. Then Bragg resigned and became a Halleck clone for Jeff Davis, and by all accounts served well in that capacity. He won Perryville, fought Stones River to a draw, and had arguably the most significant CSA victory, save the 7-Days, at Chickamauga. He fought often and hard. Sadly, the ANV used Bragg's army as a place to dump all their 2nd class generals, and then Jeff Davis was constantly taking troops away from Bragg's to shore up Vicksburg and other areas. So, anyway, Bragg got a raw deal, imho.
 
He has be very unfairly treated by history.

Aside from his abrasive personality (which is a very big aside!), it's often difficult to discern the quality and objectivity of any particular history especially as Bragg is concerned. For every aspect that might be cited on the positive side of the ledger (he "won Perryville" "fought Stones River to a draw," transformed the war by the Kentucky campaign, had one of the most important victories at Chickamauga), it can be balanced by counter arguments: Perryville might have been a tactical victory, but it hastened the Confederate withdrawal from Kentucky; Stones River did not quite succeed in forcing a Union withdrawal, and in fact, had the opposite effect. Chickamauga was but a temporary setback for the Union, which eventually brought multiple federal armies to resoundingly roust Bragg at Chattanooga. His subordinate detractors may have gone too far at times and must bear some responsibility for undermining Bragg's command. But Bragg must be evaluated on the success or failure of his various command responsibilities, and that is certainly a mixed bag.
 
James Longstreet, a man who was vilified for years by many of his contemporaries in an effort to blame him for the defeat of the rebel cause.
I agree. As you can probably tell from my screen name, I'm a fan of Longstreet. He was the scapegoat for the south when they wanted someone to blame, and didn't want to blame R.E. Lee. We all know what happened at Gettysburg and what Longstreet advised. Throughout the war he was always very level headed and definitely unappreciated at the end.
 
James Longstreet, a man who was vilified for years by many of his contemporaries in an effort to blame him for the defeat of the rebel cause.
Longstreet was right at gettysberg. also said he coulda cut the unio army in half at James river but didn't because it woulda taken too long to get lees approval, and time didn't permit that. that kind of decisive action woulda been done in the early years but not later as in '64 when they were racing to the Petersburg defenses.
 
I agree. As you can probably tell from my screen name, I'm a fan of Longstreet. He was the scapegoat for the south when they wanted someone to blame, and didn't want to blame R.E. Lee. We all know what happened at Gettysburg and what Longstreet advised. Throughout the war he was always very level headed and definitely unappreciated at the end.
he woulda won the wilderness if he hadn't got shot.
 
I would nominate Major General Robert F. Hoke "Lee's most modest warrior" He was even rumored to be Lee's hand-picked successor as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
really. I haven't read that or heard it. I woulda thot it'd be a.p. hill or old pete
 
James Longstreet, a man who was vilified for years by many of his contemporaries in an effort to blame him for the defeat of the rebel cause.

Appreciated by Lee during the war. Underappreciated after the war because of the Lost Cause.

But I feel like Longstreet is overappreciated today, among CW buffs. I think a number of people would argue he was one of the best Confederate generals. I think Longstreet was a good general but not a great one, and better off in a subordinate role. It was an impression I got during my sesquicentennial reading.
 
Back
Top