Say What Saturday: Beauregard Quote that Should Be Famous

Great qoute, not sure if others will agree but I always thought Beauregard was under utilized.
Please to explain "under Utilized". Why was he selected to fire the first shot ? I have not read of any book ,outside a novel.that shows him as a desent field commander nor as a national statesmen for the Confederacy.If you know of any favorable books on him please inform me.I think it would be like finding on on General Bella.
 
Please to explain "under Utilized". Why was he selected to fire the first shot ? I have not read of any book ,outside a novel.that shows him as a desent field commander nor as a national statesmen for the Confederacy.If you know of any favorable books on him please inform me.I think it would be like finding on on General Bella.
He's in my book, and the one I'm currently writing. I like him a lot, particularly for his dramatic flare! viewbook.at/RampageontheRiver
 
Correct, and I forgot to add to my reply then a clip from the book "Medical histories of Confederate Generals" by D. J. Welsh. Therefore I will do it now, although I'm well aware that this thread is not so much about Beauregard's medical condition, but about his resolution. Anyway, he seems to have been quite adverse to cold and wet weather, something I can entirely relate to!
Here comes the clip:
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Was the general ever really well enough to assume field command ? It would appear as though he gained his positions as to the political and having a charming Rhett Butler charm with the influential ladies of Richmond was his only ability for promotion
 
Thanks for sharing this interesting story.
If one reads as to his political actions following the war one would question why he never relieved the criticism what Longstreet received for his politics as to joining the Republican party .I suppose that since he joined the Reform party that was why. Beauregard saw the future just as Longstreet did but B. had the support of key powerful men in his state and L. had Gettysburg failure to attach to himself
 
Bumping for Sean Michael Chick, who was our guest on Zoom last night. He talked about his just released book Grant's Left Hook: The Bermuda Hundred Campaign, May 5-June 7, 1864, but we also talked a bit about his upcoming book on Beauregard. After the program ended last night, I showed Sean this great quote, but I wanted to be sure he could access it easily.

I still think it should be famous.... "It is a time for action, not speaking....the only way in which I can speak now is through the mouths of my cannon."

:D
Since I discovered it, I think I might have actually used this quote myself. Even though I don't have any cannon. Sometimes, you just need to remind yourself to be decisive. And to act with decisiveness.
 
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General Beauregard apparently had a flair for the melodramatic when speaking about duty and fighting during the Civil War. When the first Confederate flags with the Saint Andrew's cross were being presented to the regiments of the Army of Northern Virginia in late 1861, the colonel of the 18th Virginia Infantry complained about the faded color of his banner which made it appear to be almost pink instead of red. Beauregard then told him to " Dye it red, dye it in blood". After the colonel replied that he would dye his flag in the blood of the enemy Beauregard said " Dye it with your own blood if necessary".
 
Thanks to @lelliott19 and @Andy Cardinal We are kicking off a new weekend series! ~ Ami

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This sounds like a Beauregard quote that should have been immortalized, but it wasn't. In fact, other than being featured here at CivilWarTalk, the quote has only appeared in print once before <that I could find> - in the New York Times of November 19, 1862.

In November 1862, at Savannah, Georgia, Beauregard said, "But, my friends, I do not appear before you to-night to make a speech, and for several reasons -- first, It is a time for action, not speaking; and secondly, my throat has been been left in such a condition by recent illness, that the only way in which I can speak now is through the mouths of my cannon. Again thanking you for your cordial manifestations of your regard, I bid you, friends, good night." https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/19/archives/a-speech-from-beauregard.html
How good of a general was Beauregard at speaking from his ''cannon"?
 
The only thing that Beauregard is remembered for is that he fired the shot that started the war or has the general at First Bull Run then the general who turned victory into defeat at Shiloh by not continuing the engagement on the first day . If for nothing else he was one of the realist to realize that the won was over for the Confederacy. Is he called the' Napoleon of the Confederacy"? If Davis had given command of the West over Johnson ,would he have made any difference at Atlanta knowing how he established the defenses at Charleston and then around Richmond ?
 
Beauregard also should get some recognition for his handling of the defenses around Richmond in May 1864. He took an inferior force and stopped what should have been a serious threat with Butler's landing at Bermuda Hundred and his advance towards Richmond. Beauregard used the forces at his disposal to check Butler and when reinforcements arrived he successfully kept Butler bottled up on the peninsula until Grant was able to cross the James in June of 1864.
 
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Beauregard was always bigger than life in his actions and words in my opinion. He was ornate in his words and dramatic in his actions. Shiloh was his "Achilles heel" and he never regained the prestige he so sought. I believe he was unfairly judged after Shiloh as no one could have organized and rearmed the weary Confederates that Sunday evening. The Rebels were spread over 15 square miles of fields, forests, scrub brush, creeks and river ravines and all the various units were scattered and unorganized. Albert Sidney Johnston could not have saved the Confederate's first day victory, so to castigate Beauregard was and still is unfair.
Regards
David
 
There is a quote that Beauregard said that I read once but can't seem to find it or remember where I read it. I was wondering if anyone knows it.. (or maybe I dreamed it?) Anyway, it was at First Manassas, when a staff officer said to Beauregard that "Bull Run" was a terrible name for a battle and Beauregard said that a Revolutionary war battle was named the "Cowpens" and that Bull Run was therefore good enough, something like that, I can't remember the exact quote. If anyone knows?
 
There is a quote that Beauregard said that I read once but can't seem to find it or remember where I read it. I was wondering if anyone knows it.. (or maybe I dreamed it?) Anyway, it was at First Manassas, when a staff officer said to Beauregard that "Bull Run" was a terrible name for a battle and Beauregard said that a Revolutionary war battle was named the "Cowpens" and that Bull Run was therefore good enough, something like that, I can't remember the exact quote. If anyone knows?
In Mary Boykin Chesnut's "Diary from Dixie" on page 63 it is reported as follows:

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Bumping for Sean Michael Chick, who was our guest on Zoom last night. He talked about his just released book Grant's Left Hook: The Bermuda Hundred Campaign, May 5-June 7, 1864, but we also talked a bit about his upcoming book on Beauregard. After the program ended last night, I showed Sean this great quote, but I wanted to be sure he could access it easily.

I still think it should be famous.... "It is a time for action, not speaking....the only way in which I can speak now is through the mouths of my cannon."

:D
Since I discovered it, I think I might have actually used this quote myself. Even though I don't have any cannon. Sometimes, you just need to remind yourself to be decisive. And to act with decisiveness.
Very true. This is why we study war. We learn decisiveness and judgement as well as character.
 
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