Braxton Bragg's War Veteran

The southern states although far less populated and without initial means to manufacture war supplies did have the strengths to be very competitive. Strong, experienced Confederate leadership in their practiced military, and the overall will power to protect their way of life would prove to be their greatest assets. Jefferson Davis became the president of the Confederacy and was a model leader. He developed a distinguished political career with many years served in the senate, he was a West Point graduate, the former Secretary of War, and a veteran of the Mexican American War. He was the ideal candidate for a president in war times. He had the advantage of having General Robert E. Lee commanding his army after Joseph Johnston was injured in The Battle of Bull run. Robert E. Lee due to strong respect, character and performance in the Mexican American war was Lincoln’s first choice as the Union general but Lee’s patriotism to his home state

Lee and Grant would both serve under General Winfield Scott, a man whom they both admired, during his campaign to Mexico City. General Scott saw greatness in Lee and stated his “…success in Mexico was largely due to the skill, valor, and undaunted energy of Robert E. Lee.”15 Scott was also heard commenting a few years later that; “Lee is the greatest military genius in America.”16 Grant, only a first lieutenant, did not get an opportunity to show much leadership. Grant did however serve with valor. At the Battle of Monterey, Grant would gain some respect among his peers by successfully carrying much needed ammunition to his regiment while under fire.17 During the Civil War, Lee and Grant would implement skills learned while under the command of General Winfield Scott.

Lee was thought to be one of the most, if not the most well respected and known generals in the Civil War. He was born on January 19, 1807, in Virginia to Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, who was a well-renown Revolutionary War veteran. Lee graduated West Point second in his class with no bad mark on his record. After West Point, he joined the Engineer Corp, and worked his way up the ranks to Captain. During this time, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who was related to George Washington’s wife. Marrying her not only got the financial side of his life covered, but also gave him a popularity advantage due to him being (faintly) related to the great Revolutionary War and First President of the United States. During the Mexican War, Lee used his trade as an engineer and helped Major General Winfield Scott with planning and beating the Mexican forces. After the Mexican war, Lee went to become the superintendent of the military academy at West Point, and made major changes such as adding an additional year to the previous four. In 1855, Congress approved the creation of four new regiments. Due to Lee’s want for a faster-promoting job, left his engineering life for the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and for the next six years, he was put in Texas with his regiment. A couple of days after Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, the South began to secede, and offered Lee the Brigadier General rank in their army. Lee would have declined it, and stuck with the Union if it

The focus of this investigation will be, “To what extent was Robert E. Lee an effective leader of the Confederate Army?” The investigation will analyze Lee’s strengths and weaknesses that contributed to his effectiveness and the overall loss of the Confederacy in the Civil War. The overall character of Lee throughout his lifetime is too broad, therefore, this investigation will focus solely on the testimony of his military background, and the personality traits that led to Lee’s decisions during the Civil War. As a result, Lee the American by Gamaliel Bradford Jr. and Robert E. Lee: The Soldier by Sir F. Maurice are important sources to this investigation, due to the background they give on Lee’s military training, personality, and victories in the battles leading up to Gettysburg.

Thomas J. Jackson played a very important roll in the civil war. As a general for the confederate side he served in many famous battles and was very well known. In November of 1859, Jackson was one of the Virginia Military Institute officers to accompany the contingent of cadets to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. At the execution of John Brown, who was an abolitionist, they stood guard. In 1861 Jackson was in charge of the cadets who were ordered to Richmond. There they were going to serve as drillmasters for new army recruits. 6 days later, Colonel Jackson was ordered to take command at Harpers Ferry, where he soon comprised the famous “stonewall Brigade.” That July, he was promoted to Brigadier General.

Displayed extreme heroism in assault on Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, in July 1863

The Commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was General Robert E. Lee. General Lee graduated second in his class from West Point in 1829 and served throughout the country, but is best known for his leadership during the Mexican-American War. General Lee believed in unity but when the state of Virginia decided to secede from the Union in April 1861, Lee decided to stay with Virginia. Confederate president Jefferson Davis asked Lee to serve as his senior military adviser and General Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862.

The war, however, was not won on attitude and preparedness alone. Military leadership played a large role in winning the war. The land advantage went to the Confederacy at the beginning of the war as it did not need to conquer the North. It could win the war simply by defending its territory and by waiting for the North to become discouraged. Fighting in the South also provided an advantage to the Confederacy as the men were fighting on their own land and had a better knowledge of it than the Yankees as well as a better incentive to defend it against invasion (Perman, 235). Confederate General Robert E. Lee managed to outmatch almost every Union general with the exception of Ulysses S. Grant, who eventually overcame Lee by force of numbers and determination of will. The fatal flaw of Lee was that he held on to the belief that his army would win the war in a single,

Many books have been written about the famous Texan Samuel Houston, better known as just Sam Houston. He was born on March 2nd 1793, just outside of Lexington, Virginia to his father, Samuel Houston, who was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, and his mother, Elizabeth Paxton. Sam had four older brothers and when he was three his brother William was born, James (1929). A year after that the first girl in his family was born named Mary. Mary was Sam’s favorite. Sam’s father, then Major Sam Houston, died when he was thirteen years old and less than a year later his mother moved the family to Tennessee. When Sam was fifteen years old in 1809 he ran away from home because his older brothers were forcing him to work in the family owned store in Maryville, James (1929), and spent three years living amongst the Cherokee Indians who adopted him and dubbed him Colonneh, which translates to “the Raven”. After his experience with the Indians Houston retained a consistent empathetic view toward Indians. After war erupted between the Americans and the British, Houston joined the United States Army in 1813 as a twenty year old private. His mother’s response according to DeBruhl, (1993), “There, my son, take this musket and never disgrace it: for remember, I had rather all my sons should fill one honorable grave, than that one of them should turn his back to save his life. Go, and remember, too, that while the door of my cottage is open to brave

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was born December 18, 1912 in Washington D.C. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was one of the few African-American officers in the U.S. Army. Davis, Jr. was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in 1932 by Rep. Oscar S. De Priest, the only black congressman at that time. At West Point he endured ostracism from both classmates and superiors who wanted to see him fail. He persevered and graduated 35th in a class of 276 in 1936. He was the fourth African-American graduate in the Academy’s history. Upon commissioning he and his father became the only two black officers in the army. His application to the Army Air Corps was refused because the Air Corps did not accept African-Americans.

SHERMAN, William Tecumseh (1820-91). Ranked second only to General Ulysses S. Grant as the greatest Northern commander in the American Civil War, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman was a master of modern warfare. Like Grant, Sherman was born in Ohio when it was a frontier state. He was named Tecumseh for the Shawnee Indian chief who had terrorized that region a few years earlier.

When we compare the military leaders of both North and South during the Civil War, it is not hard to see what the differences are. One of the first things that stand out is the numerous number of Northern generals that led the “Army of the Potomac.” Whereas the Confederate generals, at least in the “Army of Northern Virginia” were much more stable in their position. Personalities, ambitions and emotions also played a big part in effective they were in the field, as well as their interactions with other officers.

Born to Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee in Stratford Hall, Virginia, Robert Edward Lee seemed destined for military greatness. He served as a military officer in the U.S. Army, a West Point commandant, and the legendary general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Lee's ambition is all peaceful ways of resolving the differences between North and South. He was also stand in the middle of two sides, pro-slavery and anti-slavery. His heart toward hometown finally led him resigned the Army of Union and took up command of the Virginia state forces on April 23, 1863. Lee and his Union army achieved great success during the early War at Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg, especially his greatest victory in Chancellorsville. Lee's first field assignment was commanding Confederate forces in western Virginia, where he was defeated at the Battle of Cheat Mountain and was widely blamed for Confederate setbacks.

During this time he was appointed to the position of superintendent for the Louisiana Military Academy in 1859. However, after the onset of the Civil War Sherman left his post as the Superintendent and went north where he became a Colonel in the 13th United States Infantry . General Sherman later experienced combat at the first Battle of Bull Run, where he led a division of General Tyler’s men. Unfortunately, he lost the battle, but President Abraham Lincoln saw his promise and promoted him to Brigadier General on August seventh, 1861.

During the times of Civil War, there were many Commanding Generals that came along. But two stand out amongst all, Ulysses S. Grant of United States of America and Robert E. Lee of Confederate States of America. Both men had formally fought, not along side of each other, in the Mexican-American War. At one point Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant worked together in the Mexican-American War. They both gained a war time experience, Grant as a quartermaster and Lee as an engineer who positioned troops and artillery during their participation in the Scott’s march from the coastal town of Vera Cruz to Mexico City. Both men were vastly different with different styles and background who not only won the affection of their men but respect of