Underrated Confederate Generals

[General Casey]

Who do you think was the most underrated Confederate general? I would say Hood's earlier career on the Peninsula - his men winning the victory at Gaines Mill - is sort of overshadowed by his losses during Atlanta and in Tennessee.

Beauregard also I feel is overshadowed. He was the victor of Fort Sumter and First Bull Run and managed to launch a nearly successful attack on Grant at Shiloh. His withdrawal from Corinth fooled Halleck into thinking the Confederates would attack. He held Charleston and he advocated the use of technology more than any other general. He faced overwhelming odds against Sherman during the March to the Sea and advocated against Hood's Tennessee Campaign.

 

[Bruce Vail]

Why do say Beauregard is underrated? My readings are not exhaustive, of course, but he seems to get rated pretty well in most of the material I have seen.

His personality doesn't seem very attractive, particularly in comparison to Lee and Jackson, but that is usually analyzed separately from his military ability.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Lloyd Tilghman. He takes an unfair amount of blame for what happened at Forts Henry and Donelson, and his fatal encounter with a shell at Champion Hill leads me to wonder what he might have accomplished had he lived.

 

[James N.]

I'll add a pair of brigadiers I had heard of before but knew little about before reading Gettysburg July 1 which I reviewed here: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/gettysburg-july-1-by-david-g-martin.136673/#post-1593503 George Doles and Abner Perrin contributed hugely to the Confederate victory on the first day, but are forgotten today because neither survived the war or rose above brigade command. Doles of Robert Rodes' division not only "amused" most of the XI Corps from its position east of Oak Hill, then assisting Gordon in the collapse of Barlow's division on Barlow's Knoll, he next sliced diagonally across the Union front from NE to SW striking the flank of the I Corps on North Seminary Ridge, almost cutting off part of it in the process. Perrin's alone of William D. Pender's four brigades overlapped and collapsed the left flank of the I Corps on McPherson's Ridge, then followed it to Seminary Ridge and all the way to the edge of Gettysburg before being halted against its will. The other three brigades were either left in reserve and forgotten (Thomas'); slaughtered in a poorly planned frontal assault (Scales'); or distracted by Buford's cavalry and largely kept out of the action (Lane's).

 

[AUG]

Maj. Gen. Tom Green. Underrated Texas cavalry general in the Trans-Mississippi. Greatly contributed to the Confederate victories at Valverde and Galveston, as well as a number of small battles in Louisiana under Richard Taylor (perhaps another underrated general). He took command of the Sibley Brigade in mid '63, later led a small division and eventually a cavalry corps when he was killed at Blair's Landing in the Red River Campaign.

And of course many brigadier generals. Francis M. Cockrell, commander of the 1st Missouri Brigade. Excellent drill master and leader of men; commanded the best-drilled CS brigade in the western theater.

Also, what about Robert E. Rodes or Stephen Dodson Ramseur in the ANV? Rodes was a good brigade and division commander in the army; I would say he and his division are underrated as far as the history of the ANV is concerned. Rodes was also largely responsible for the act to raise sharpshooter battalions in the army. Ramseur was a great brigadier but perhaps a spotty division commander. He and his brigade performed very well at Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania especially.

 

[General Casey]

Rodes and Ramseur are too others I was thinking of as well.

 

[Greywolf]

Agree on Rodes and Ramseur. Other i would add are:
Cadmus Wilcox
Junius Daniel

 

[CMWinkler]

Daniel Govan
John Gregg
J. B. Robertson

 

[mofederal]

Jo Shelby, but of course he was a Missourian, and I would automatically think of him. I always thought Patrick Cleburne was underrated. I know he had the rank, but he was much better than many of those in higher command. He was way ahead of Hood, who I think was a great Brigade commander. M. Jeff Thompson, another Missourian, but he was very talented.

 

[highplainsdrifter59]

George Maney

 

[huskerblitz]

I don't think Stephen D. Lee gets the credit he earned during the war. Youngest Lt. General in the CSA.

 

[Rebforever]

I don't think Stephen D. Lee gets the credit he earned during the war. Youngest Lt. General in the CSA.

Yep. S.D.Lee was the one burning up Porters attack at II Manassas. He didn't get credit for it.

 

[Jimklag]

Who do you think was the most underrated Confederate general? I would say Hood's earlier career on the Peninsula - his men winning the victory at Gaines Mill - is sort of overshadowed by his losses during Atlanta and in Tennessee.

Beauregard also I feel is overshadowed. He was the victor of Fort Sumter and First Bull Run and managed to launch a nearly successful attack on Grant at Shiloh. His withdrawal from Corinth fooled Halleck into thinking the Confederates would attack. He held Charleston and he advocated the use of technology more than any other general. He faced overwhelming odds against Sherman during the March to the Sea and advocated against Hood's Tennessee Campaign.

I always though W. Dorset Pender was underrated as was Robert Rodes.

 

[novushomus]

I don't think Stephen D. Lee gets the credit he earned during the war. Youngest Lt. General in the CSA.

As the commander of an artillery battalion, he was very skilled. Commanding cavalry divisions and infantry corps? Not so much. He was a terrible Lt. Gen. Case-in-point, Tupelo and Ezra Church.

 

[novushomus]

Army of Northern Virginia:
Maj. Gen. Charles Field. The man who restored Hood's old division to fighting trim after Knoxville, and who despite being out of the field for more than a year because of his wounds, ably commanded Lee's shock troops from the Wilderness to Petersburg. His tactical articulation was particularly noteworthy at Deep Bottom where his counterattack helped to prevent a breach in the Confederate position.

Maj. Gen. Harry Heth. He gets a lot of flak for Gettysburg, but I think an examination of his entire career as a division commander showed him to be much more than the man who bumbled into Gettysburg. He proved to very adept commanding large formations around Petersburg and on more than one occassion substituted for A.P. Hill quite ably (notably Ream's Station). Though not as flashy as Mahone was during the Petersburg campaign, I think Heth was a good division commander.

Army of Tennessee:
Lt. Gen. A.P. Stewart. One of the army's finest tacticians. His column of brigades at Chickamauga was a smart and sustained formation that allowed him to drive into Rosecrans' center on September 19. His defense at New Hope Church was dogged and ranks with the actions of Cleburne's and Cheatham's divisions during the Atlanta Campaign. It is saying something that Stewart was the only division commander of ten who Johnston felt able to command a corps. He outperformed the seasoned Hardee at Peachtree Creek and I think he was one of the better corps commanders the army had (though that is not saying much). My only reservations were his yielding to S.D. Lee's poorer impulses at Ezra Church and his poor judgement at Spring Hill.

Maj. Gen. Edward C. Walthall. That Forrest requested Walthall to command the infantry in his rear guard says a lot to Walthall's abilities as a soldier. Though overshadowed by Cleburne and Cheatham, I think Walthall was one of the better Confederate division commanders in the west. He was a superb brigade commander with an excellent performance at Chickamauga and he transistioned rather well to a division. He shined however, assisting Forrest in covering the Army of Tennessee's retreat from Nashville. In the consolidations that spring before Durham Station, I think it is also telling that Johnston picked Walthall to replace the experienced and competent Lafayette McLaws at the head of a division when Walthall's old one was consolidated into Loring's.

Trans-Mississippi Department:
AUG351 has already mentioned Green, but I thought I'd second that. While the Trans-Mississippi had several cavalry officers of note, only John Wharton I think comes close to Green's performance and ability as a horseman.

John G. Walker, James Fagan, and Mosby Parsons would round out my list for underrated Trans-Mississippi generals.

 

[Bruce Vail]

I'll add a pair of brigadiers I had heard of before but knew little about before reading Gettysburg July 1 which I reviewed here: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/gettysburg-july-1-by-david-g-martin.136673/#post-1593503 George Doles and Abner Perrin contributed hugely to the Confederate victory on the first day, but are forgotten today because neither survived the war or rose above brigade command. Doles of Robert Rodes' division not only "amused" most of the XI Corps from its position east of Oak Hill, then assisting Gordon in the collapse of Barlow's division on Barlow's Knoll, he next sliced diagonally across the Union front from NE to SW striking the flank of the I Corps on North Seminary Ridge, almost cutting off part of it in the process. Perrin's alone of William D. Pender's four brigades overlapped and collapsed the left flank of the I Corps on McPherson's Ridge, then followed it to Seminary Ridge and all the way to the edge of Gettysburg before being halted against its will. The other three brigades were either left in reserve and forgotten (Thomas'); slaughtered in a poorly planned frontal assault (Scales'); or distracted by Buford's cavalry and largely kept out of the action (Lane's).

George Doles was a very good officer. He was commanding a regiment at the beginning of the battle of Antietam but had to take over command of the brigade early in the day, after Gen. Ripley was wounded and left the field. There wasn't much delay in making him a full general and giving him his own brigade after that.

As you say, he distinguished himself at Gettysburg.

 

[Nytram01]

...Trans-Mississippi Department:
AUG351 has already mentioned Green, but I thought I'd second that. While the Trans-Mississippi had several cavalry officers of note, only John Wharton I think comes close to Green's performance and ability as a horseman...

What about Jo Shelby?

 

[novushomus]

What about Jo Shelby?

Shelby was a talented raider whose brigade was one of the better Confederate cavalry units in the Trans-Mississippi. However, I think Shelby was very fortunate that his adjutant was newspaperman John Newman Edwards, who gave Shelby's reputation a boost with his publicity. However, Shelby never really cooperated with infantry formations except a brigade commander at Prairie Grove and Helena, unlike Green and Wharton.

 

[WJC]

Why do say Beauregard is underrated? My readings are not exhaustive, of course, but he seems to get rated pretty well in most of the material I have seen.

His personality doesn't seem very attractive, particularly in comparison to Lee and Jackson, but that is usually analyzed separately from his military ability.

Thanks for supporting Jackson's personality, which I believe is too often attacked....

 

[MHB1862]

My choices are one MG in Division command and one MG thrust into Corps command.

LaFayette McLaws was steady in combat and took good care of his men. Longstreet maligned him after Knoxville and damaged his reputation. The fault rested with Old Pete but McLaws took the blame. See E.P. Alexander's Fighting for the Cofederacy for an indictment of Longstreet at Knoxville. As those writings were nEver meant to be published, I find Alexander's commentary both candid and telling and completely without ulterior PR motives.

My second choice is Dick Anderson. Thrust into command of the First Corps after Longstreet's wounding, Anderson made some tough marches to beat Grant to Grant's objectives in the Overland Campaign and fought the Corps well while waiting for the rest of the ANV to catch up. Anderson was steady, reliable and, compared to many other Confederate General officers who reached Corps command modest and unassuming. He handled the Corps very well until Old Pete returned.