Chickamauga Chattanooga Who was most responsible for opening the Cracker Line?

And Rosecrans went on to get political appointments and serve in congress (where he opposed Grant's pension when Grant was ill, but then expected a retirement bill for himself).
Correct. And Rosecrans had every opportunity to go on a world tour, or write a best selling memoir, but no one cared about Rosecrans. He was just another Democratic Congressman as the Jim Crow regime settled on the south.
Rosecrans was just a more Democratic version of William Sherman.
 
The US kicked the French out of Mexico, the corrupt railroad project was finished in spite of the corruption and Grant smoothed over the Civil War issues and restarted the improvement of relations between the US, Canada and Mexico, and Rosecrans was not part of any of these major consequences of the Civil War.
Rosecrans was neither in operational control or tactical control of the Cracker Line attack, and it went on just fine without him.
 
From the time Don Carlos Buell was relieved of his command, General Thomas was effectively in control of the Cumberland Army. Rosecrans was the formal commander, as long as Salmon Chase was an important part of the cabinet. But the Cumberland Army kept winning battles after Rosecrans departed and Thomas was in command as long as the Cumberland Army existed. But the Thomas formed a new army, and won another battle. It wasn't a conspiracy, Thomas was a better general than Rosecrans and Thomas had a better staff to do the detailed planning of opening a shorter supply line through Brown's Ferry.
I am going to disagree with you about Rosecrans. What he did to create the Army of the Cumberland, the logistical, engineering & signal assets was nothing short of absolutely critical for victory in the West. No other general was responsible for more implementing innovations than Rosecrans. The 240,000 men in the District of the Cumberland, under his command, rewrote the book on army logistics. In hindsight, having Rosecrans as department commander & Thomas as army commander might well have been the arrangement.
 
I am going to disagree with you about Rosecrans. What he did to create the Army of the Cumberland, the logistical, engineering & signal assets was nothing short of absolutely critical for victory in the West. No other general was responsible for more implementing innovations than Rosecrans. The 240,000 men in the District of the Cumberland, under his command, rewrote the book on army logistics. In hindsight, having Rosecrans as department commander & Thomas as army commander might well have been the arrangement.
I don't think Rosecrans ever trusted the railroad would be managed correctly, and did not think it would be adequately protected from Confederate raiders and sabotogue. Rosecrans was always anticipating the RR being knocked out. The problems were not really solved until Miegs and McCallum took over. It wasn't Rosecrans fault, but Stanton was not willing to do that for Rosecrans, but since Grant was the back up plan if something happened to Lincoln's political or physical health, they had to do it for Grant.
 
I don't think Rosecrans ever trusted the railroad would be managed correctly, and did not think it would be adequately protected from Confederate raiders and sabotogue. Rosecrans was always anticipating the RR being knocked out. The problems were not really solved until Miegs and McCallum took over. It wasn't Rosecrans fault, but Stanton was not willing to do that for Rosecrans, but since Grant was the back up plan if something happened to Lincoln's political or physical health, they had to do it for Grant.
I recommend Taylor’s The Supply for Tomorrow Must Not Fail for a detailed, hands on account of how Rosecrans used the RR. During the Tullahoma Campaign, the rebuilt RR was used exclusively to ship fodder south & return broken down equines north. Rations & ammunition were hauled on wagons. The fodder was in gunny sacks & their return was a critical element of the supply chain.
 
From the time Don Carlos Buell was relieved of his command, General Thomas was effectively in control of the Cumberland Army. Rosecrans was the formal commander, as long as Salmon Chase was an important part of the cabinet. But the Cumberland Army kept winning battles after Rosecrans departed and Thomas was in command as long as the Cumberland Army existed. But the Thomas formed a new army, and won another battle. It wasn't a conspiracy, Thomas was a better general than Rosecrans and Thomas had a better staff to do the detailed planning of opening a shorter supply line through Brown's Ferry.
An inaccurate and ahistorical statement. Naturally there is no supporting documentation.
But everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. Just be careful where you espouse it. Other sites are more discriminating. .
 
My only point is that if you are going to go that far off the subject of a thread & make repeated postings, you should start a thread on that subject. Any reading, close or otherwise of my posts reveals that this is a conversation, not a term paper. The working assumption is that folks who participate in these discussions are well versed on the topic & don’t have to footnote everything they write. If you prefer footnoted postings by actual historians, the Emerging Civil War forum will be more to your taste. I subscribe to some narrow interest CW forums, but the ECW seems to fit the bill. In any case, if you expect high school term papers with footnotes, this forum is going to be disappointing.
So people should be cautious about what’s posted on this site?
 
Correct. And Rosecrans had every opportunity to go on a world tour, or write a best selling memoir, but no one cared about Rosecrans. He was just another Democratic Congressman as the Jim Crow regime settled on the south.
Rosecrans was just a more Democratic version of William Sherman.
Rosecrans actually had to make a living for his family after the war. Grant lost the fortune he had made largely through his personal contacts. Grant was opposed by liberal Republicans in 1872 and members of his party worked against his getting the nomination in 1880. The ardor for Grant today I suspect is that he is interpreted as the man who defeated Lee and the Confederacy. How he did it and whether someone else could have done it more efficiently- meaning less people killed and wounded- is not important.
 
Of course. Though perhaps not as cautious as when on an audiophile enthusiast site.
But perhaps people should be less certain or forceful about their opinions if not backed by any documentation. Btw there used to be a fair number of authors - at least about Grant and related generals- on this site but many have left. Not all opinions are actually equal.
I am going to disagree with you about Rosecrans. What he did to create the Army of the Cumberland, the logistical, engineering & signal assets was nothing short of absolutely critical for victory in the West. No other general was responsible for more implementing innovations than Rosecrans. The 240,000 men in the District of the Cumberland, under his command, rewrote the book on army logistics. In hindsight, having Rosecrans as department commander & Thomas as army commander might well have been the arrangement.
A chapter of note in Gateway to the Confederacy.

C85A072A-23CC-4150-ACBB-453FFCB9941C.jpeg
 
But perhaps people should be less certain or forceful about their opinions if not backed by any documentation. Btw there used to be a fair number of authors - at least about Grant and related generals- on this site but many have left. Not all opinions are actually equal.
I can think of only one notable and respected Grant author that used to post here. I don't remember that he was all that impressed with Rosecrans.
 
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