A wide-ranging look at various Civil War generals and their
defeats, as well as their places in the accepted Civil War history,
edited by Texas Christian University historian Woodworth (Six
Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns,
1998). Woodworth's contributors, academics from throughout the US,
look at how and why a variety of Northern and Southern generals
were defeated and what those defeats did to their military careers.
The generals studied, including such notables as Albert Sidney
Johnston, Joe Hooker, and George B. McClellan, are all considered
"capable failures," with excellent prewar reputations and whose
defeats make them ripe for analytical study. Essays cover such
ground as "In Defense of Joe Hooker," "Misused Merit: The Tragedy
of Joh Pemberton," and "If Properly Led: Command Relationships at
Gettysburg," a look at both Northern and Southern commands.
Throughout the volume, the guiding idea is to look at what exactly
constituted failure and how hindsight has shaped our perceptions of
them, notably in the case of Hooker. Stephen Sears looks at
Hooker's famous loss of nerve at the battle of Chancellorsville and
debunks the myth of a post-battle confession by Hooker to Abner
Doubleday that he lost faith in himself. Sears looks at the details
of that reported conversation and determines that it could not have
taken place, thus altering the historical record. Although it
doesn't change what took place at Chancellorsville, it certainly
does change history's perception of Hooker and casts him in a far
better light. As in many edited volumes, writing quality and style
vary from piece to piece, but overall, Woodworth offers a worthy
look at Civil War command by looking at the losers. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Commanders who serve on the losing side of a battle, campaign, or
war are often harshly viewed by posterity. Labeled as mere
"losers," they go unrecognized for their very real abilities and
achievements in other engagements. The writers in this volume
challenge such simplistic notions.
By looking more closely at Civil War generals who have borne the
stigma of failure, these authors reject the reductionist view that
significant defeats were due simply to poor generalship. Analyzing
men who might be considered "capable failures"--officers of high
pre-war reputation, some with distinguished records in the Civil
War--they examine the various reasons these men suffered defeat,
whether flaws of character, errors of judgment, lack of
preparation, or circumstance beyond their control.
These seven case studies consider Confederate and Union generals
evenhandedly. They show how Albert Sidney Johnston failed in the
face of extreme conditions and inadequate support; how Joe Hooker
and John C. Pemberton were outmatched in confrontations with Lee
and Grant; how George B. McClellan in the Peninsula Campaign and
Don Carlos Buell at Chattanooga faced political as well as military
complications; and how Joseph E. Johnston failed to adapt to
challenges in Virginia. An additional chapter looks at generals
from both sides at the Battle of Gettysburg, showing how failure to
adjust to circumstances can thwart even the most seasoned leader's
expectations.
"There is far more to be learned in trying to understand how and
why a general fell short," observes Steven Woodworth, "than there
is in multiplying denunciations of his alleged stupidity." Civil
War Generals in Defeat successfully addresses that need. It is a
provocative book that seeks not to rehabilitate reputations but to
enlarge our understanding of the nature and limitations of military
command.
General
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