Which Civil War General Do You Love to Hate?

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Nov 26, 2016
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I was recently struck by a comment another poster made in which they pondered how someone who was loyal to the Southern Cause could criticize a renowned Southern general like James Longstreet. I have often wondered that myself. This phenomenon is common on both sides. For example, there are plenty of loyal Unionists who seem to take pleasure in trying to prove that General Grant was an alcoholic. Perhaps the answer is simple – folks love having someone to hate.

So, which general do you love to hate? And please tell us why!

I’ll get us started. I love to hate General Sherman. While I understand how his tactics brought an end to the Civil War, I hate them. The idea of terrorizing women and children just makes me cringe. I think Sherman’s “total war” strategy was despicable
 
We have had past threads on Sherman showing that Sheman's actions were overblown by Lost Cause folk.
Leftyhunter
Maybe cause of those heart wrenching scenes of the Tara’s destruction in the 2nd half of GWTW. But there are some pretty graphic personal accounts of what Sherman’s “bummers” did to middle Georgia on the way to Savannah (but as they say “..sow the wind, reap the whirlwind”).
 
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I always thought Jubal Early was a thoroughly unpleasant person, one of the nastiest personalities during and after the war. However he was a superior commander, and I guess that's what they were paying him for.

I know, right? You can hear his parents saying, "we're going to send you to military boarding school!" only they couldn't send him to Alaska because Alaska hadn't been made a state yet and there were no military boarding schools there, but it would have been a good place for him.
 
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Capt. Nathaniel Lyon. He was reassigned to St. Louis and after violating his orders from his superior officers was promoted to General. During a 'peace' conference, the recently promoted Lyon infamously threatened the Governor, the State Militia Commander and citizenry stating, "every man, woman and child in the State dead and buried" in a declaration of war on the State of Missouri. This was before Missouri had seceded, mobilized military forces or taken any belligerent actions against the Federal Gov't.
 
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Capt. Nathaniel Lyon. He was reassigned to St. Louis and after violating his orders from his superior officers was promoted to General. During a 'peace' conference, the recently promoted Lyon infamously threatened the Governor, the State Militia Commander and citizenry stating, "every man, woman and child in the State dead and buried" in a declaration of war on the State of Missouri. This was before Missouri had seceded, mobilized military forces or taken any belligerent actions against the Federal Gov't.
Camp Jackson Affair
 
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Camp Jackson Affair
The incident occurred at the Planter House meeting in St. Louis in June, 61, roughly one month after Camp Jackson. Representing the State of Missouri were Gov. Jackson, his Aid De Camp Thomas Snead and the appointed commander of the recently authorized State militia former Gov. Sterling Price. Gen. Lyon was accompanied by Francis P. Blair, a Congressman from St. Louis among other things. The purpose of the meeting was to prevent Missouri descending into armed conflict with the Federal Gov't. during the national secession crisis.
 
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The incident occurred at the Planter House meeting in St. Louis in June, 61, roughly one month after Camp Jackson. Representing the State of Missouri were Gov. Jackson, his Aid De Camp Thomas Snead and the appointed commander of the recently authorized State militia former Gov. Sterling Price. Gen. Lyon was accompanied by Francis P. Blair, a Congressman from St. Louis among other things. The purpose of the meeting was to prevent Missouri descending into armed conflict with the Federal Gov't. during the national secession crisis.
I was thinking earlier, May 10th and the killing of civilians.
 
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The General officers I love to hate are Braxton Bragg, David Hunter, James Blunt, John Schofield, and John Pope.

Well, at least Pope took his downfall in good grace and went west to subject the Sioux and then other Indians. As it turned out he was pretty good at the job and was held in high regard by Grant and Sherman.
 
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James G. Blunt was originally from the east, a physician and an abolitionist who moved to Kansas. He eventually became a Major General, who became best known for being defeated by Quantrill at Baxter Springs in 1863. He should have been his own best customer. He was a controversial character in that theater of the war. Blunt had a talent for stirring up trouble wherever he went. He became a lawyer after the war. He was committed to an asylum in 1879, dying in 1881 of what they called softening of the brain, the root cause of which was something else.
 
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James G. Blunt was originally from the east, a physician and an abolitionist who moved to Kansas. He eventually became a Major General, who became best known for being defeated by Quantrill at Baxter Springs in 1863. He should have been his own best customer. He was a controversial character in that theater of the war. Blunt had a talent for stirring up trouble wherever he went. He became a lawyer after the war. He was committed to an asylum in 1879, dying in 1881 of what they called softening of the brain, the root cause of which was something else.
The "root cause" deriving from problems with his 'root', no doubt.
 
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