American Civil War Officers

[Albany Rifles]

As I resurrect this thread (and I better not see any damn dead kittens or zombie SWNBN's showing up, dammit!) and wanted to add a few more names as I have continued my research over the past 6 1/2 years

I would like to add the following:

Gordon Granger

It was his troops under John Wood and Phil Sheridan (yes, that Sheridan) which stormed Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga.

He also had much to do with the founding of "Juneteenth" by freed African-American slaves.

Gordon Granger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frank Blair

A politician who became a damn fine general, rising to command a corps in the Atlanta and Carolinas Campaigns. He stood by his convictions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_P._Blair,_Jr.

John Palmer

Another politician who did well. He rose to command Thomas' 14th Corps. And his life as a pre & post war politician is a marvel.

John M. Palmer (politician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ben Cheatham

Despite his error at Spring Hill he still was a fine division and corps commander.

Benjamin F. Cheatham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Hardee

The prewar drill master whose instructions both armies followed. He toiled under a series of poor commanders and was an excellent corps commander.

[Albany Rifles]

I really admire all three. Buford and Reynolds didn't win Gettysburg but they kept the Union from losing by their recognition of the key terrain and their willingness to fight for it's possession and defense.

As Lee Corso would say...Not so fast, my friend.

The guy who recieves no credit for picking the decisive (as opposed to key) terrain for the Union at Gettysburg was............O. O. Howard!

Yes, contrary to most, I view O. O. Howard as the forgotten savior of Gettysburg. Remember, he left a full division as well as the XI Corps artillery on Cemetary Hill when he moved through Gettysburg. This gave the Union an anchor point for the eventual defense.

Buford fought a traditional cavalry holding action. Doubleday (Reynolds didn't live long enough to get credit) and Hancock pushed the infantry into line in a classic meeting engagement/hasty attack.
Howard pushed 2 divisions forward and Barlow exceeded his orders which caused the Union right to crumble. But Howard had recognized the importance of the ridge and had put von Steinwehr's division in reserve on Cemetary Hill. This became the anchor on which Hancock built the defense line during the evening of 1 July 63.

Not great but good enough!

[S2]

Buford, Reynolds, & Longstreet

I really admire all three. Buford and Reynolds didn't win Gettysburg but they kept the Union from losing by their recognition of the key terrain and their willingness to fight for it's possession and defense.

Equally, Longstreet's advice to Lee harkens of Guderian's to Hitler when discussing Kursk-

"In that case your reaction to the problem is the correct one. Leave it alone!"

A different story, perhaps, had Lee done so.

[Bluesman]

James Longstreet, thanks entirely to Michael Shaara and my high school lit teacher.


David Deptula?

The very same. Our commander, Lt Col Foglesong (son of the now-retired four-star General Foglesong) blew him away with the unit brief that detailed the 13th's accomplishments for '07. He's the head intel bubba for the USAF, and the ISR god for the entire world. But he was simply blown away by the record of glory the unit ammassed this year.

And I just knew that Mosby would be on your list :))

That's a true-life legend in combat leadership, if ever there was one.

[TopHatter]

James Longstreet, thanks entirely to Michael Shaara and my high school lit teacher.

(We just had a visit by the AF A2, LtGen Deptula; THAT was a dam' interesting brief!)

David Deptula?

And I just knew that Mosby would be on your list :))

[Bluesman]

You couldn't find any Federals in the Western Theater you liked?

And Stand Watie is more traditionally seen as being in the Trans Mississippi Theater. The Western Theater stretched from the Appalachians to the Mississippi River

Well, I think he was at Pea Ridge.

And I was runnin' out the door to a brief when I was putting the post up, so I missed the Federal, West entry (I'll catch it up after work tonight). (We just had a visit by the AF A2, LtGen Deptula; THAT was a dam' interesting brief!)

[Albany Rifles]

Bluesman

You couldn't find any Federals in the Western Theater you liked?

And Stand Watie is more traditionally seen as being in the Trans Mississippi Theater. The Western Theater stretched from the Appalachians to the Mississippi River

[Albany Rifles]

I find it significant that virtually all the names mentioned on this thread originated from the British Isles. Today that would no longer be the case, and I would hazard a guess that the names would be mostly German.

Hazen was German and Longstreet was Dutch..as I said, it was a quick list. There were some tremendous officers from the Old Northwest (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin) of German ancestory. At teh start of the Civil War, the white populaiton of the US was approx 27 million. There had been some significant German immigration in the decades just prior to the war as well as some French and Italian. But America was still a preominantly Anglo-Saxon country...of course there was a lot of Irish immigration occurring from the 1840s onward...some forced some otehrwise.

[glyn]

I find it significant that virtually all the names mentioned on this thread originated from the British Isles. Today that would no longer be the case, and I would hazard a guess that the names would be mostly German.

[GAU-8]

While I agree with the asessment he was a general pain in the ass what did he accomplish in a strategic sense other than Brice's Crossroads? Other than Smith's faield attack out of Memphis, all of his raids never stopped any major Union offensives. In 1864 all of his battles were against forces sent ou to tie him down. He, Forrest, never was able to disrupt Sherman's supply lines in a manner sufficient to cause the Union to stop a campaign. Only Van Dorn's Holly Springs Raid of Dec 62 stopped Grant's overland attack toward Vicksburg.

And as I said he obeyed the orders given him by a superior when he agreed with the superior.

OK, you're right. No strategic accomplishments. I guess I just like guys that are a general pain in the ass. I found the book an exciting account and found NBF to be an incredibly resourceful and daring pain in the ass. The thread started with the question of what officer interests you. I find him interesting. So did Shelby Foote:

"In his first fight, northeast(sic) of Bowling Green, the forty year old Forrest improvised a double envelopment, combined it with a frontal assault-classic maneuvers which he could not identify by name and of which he had most likely never heard..."
Shelby Foote, The Civil War

[Bluesman]

Confederates, East:

John Mosby.

Wade Hampton.

John B. Gordon

Jhn C. Breckenridge

Confederates, West:

Stand Watie

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Patrick Cleburne

Leonidas Polk

Confederates, Naval:

Raphael Semmes

Confederates, Civil:

Judah P. Benjamin

Federal, East:

Phillip Kearny

Robert Gould Shaw

Francis Barlow

Federals, West:

Federals, Naval:

David Farragut

Andrew Foote

Federals, Civil:

Edwin M. Stanton

[Albany Rifles]

Gau-8

While I agree with the asessment he was a general pain in the ass what did he accomplish in a strategic sense other than Brice's Crossroads? Other than Smith's faield attack out of Memphis, all of his raids never stopped any major Union offensives. In 1864 all of his battles were against forces sent ou to tie him down. He, Forrest, never was able to disrupt Sherman's supply lines in a manner sufficient to cause the Union to stop a campaign. Only Van Dorn's Holly Springs Raid of Dec 62 stopped Grant's overland attack toward Vicksburg.

And as I said he obeyed the orders given him by a superior when he agreed with the superior.

[GAU-8]

For accomplishing so much with so little and doing so without an education, I'd have to go with N. B. Forrest. The fact he started the KKK (then disbanded it) distracts from his war record IMHO. If any of you get a chance to read "That Devil Forrest" by John Allan Wyeth, I highly recommend it. The title of the book is a quote from General Grant.
0John Allan Wyeth -8071-1578-9 PAPER - That Devil Forrest: Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest by John Allan Wyeth - History - LSU Press - Detail

[Albany Rifles]

Dan Sickles

I am really amazed at how knowlegeble many of the posters on this thread are about military history. I don't think the generals have to nice people to be interesting though. NB Forrest is very interesting even though (maybe because) he did found the Klan. I find the story of Dan Sickle's leg interesting as well.

Ah, now THERE is an interesting character!

I actually think he has received quitre a bad rap for Gettysburg. Yes, he did disobey and ignore orders and move forward at put the entire line at risk. But have you ever stood on the ground at Gettysburg where the III Corps was set up? It is sometimes called Sickles Hole. His position was in a depression looking to the west. Check out thsi website

Sickles' Hole

Okay, so what happened the last time on battlefield that Sickles had given up the high ground to the Confederates? It was called HAzel Grove and he got the snot pounded out of him by Confereate artillery

The American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville - Hazel Grove / Fairview

So I have a little more sympathy for him than some.

[Albany Rifles]

Hmmmm. I notice that Albany Rifles does not include George Armstrong Custer of the Union Army in his list of favorites. I wonder why?
Nor Jesse James or KKK founder Nathaniel Bedford Forest of the Confederate Army.

Well, the last two weren't exactly nice guys after the war and the first one was a General by mistake and later (reduced to Colonel) did not make too many friends with the Sioux Nation.

1. Actually, Custer was a tremendous brigade commander. His leadership of the Wolverine Brigade was awesome. He is best known for his action against Wade Hampton's troops at Gettysburg. But you should read about how well they, and by ecxtension he, did at Yellow Tavern, Haw's Shop, Hanover Court House, Cedar Creek, etc. He was one of the finest cavalry brigade commanders on either side.

2. Jesse James was not an officer as I recall. I believe he was a sergeant...still he did not do anything on a scale which would make him noteworthy in my mind.

3. NBF I am mixed on. My major problem with him is if he disagreed with his commander then he would disobey orders. Now if you see what he did at places like Brice's Crossroads he performed very well but he showed a stunnign lack of leadership and judgement later at Tupelo. And as for his raids, etc.? in 1864? His mission was to disrupt Sherman's attack to Atlanta, a mission he never accomplished. So I am not overly enamored with NBF. It has nothing to do with what he did during Reconstruction. If I held that view then I would have to dun Grant, who I hold in very high esteem for the Civil War but I believe he was one of the worst presidents we ever had.