Jefferson Davis and His Generals

Posted on 10 September 2018 by Steven E. Woodworth

Jefferson Davis is a historical figure who provokes strong passions among scholars Through the years historians have placed him at both ends of the spectrum some have portrayed him as a hero, others have judged him incompetent In Jefferson Davis and His Generals, Steven Woodworth shows that both extremes are accurate Davis was both heroic and incompetent Yet neither viewpoint reveals the whole truth about this complicated figure Woodworth s portrait of Davis reveals an experienced, talented, and courageous leader who, nevertheless, undermined the Confederacy s cause in the trans Appalachian west, where the South lost the war.At the war s outbreak, few Southerners seemed better qualified for the post of commander in chief Davis had graduated from West Point, commanded a combat regiment in the Mexican War which neither Lee nor Grant could boast , and performed admirably as U.S Senator and Secretary of War Despite his credentials, Woodworth argues, Davis proved too indecisive and inconsistent as commander in chief to lead his new nation to victory.As Woodworth shows, however, Davis does not bear the sole responsibility for the South s defeat A substantial part of that burden rests with Davis s western generals Bragg, Beauregard, Van Dorn, Pemberton, Polk, Buckner, Hood, Forrest, Morgan, and the Johnstons Albert and Joseph were a proud, contentious, and uneven lot Few could be classed with the likes of a Lee or a Jackson in the east Woodworth assesses their relations with Davis, as well as their leadership on and off the battlefields at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Atlanta, to demonstrate their complicity in the Confederacy s demise.Extensive research in the marvelously rich holdings of the Jefferson Davis Association at Rice University enriches Woodworth s study He provides superb analyses of western military operations, as well as some stranger than fiction tales Van Dorn s shocking death, John Hood and Sally Preston s bizarre romance, Gideon Pillow s undignified antics, and Franklin Cheatham s drunken battlefield behavior Most important, he has avoided the twin temptations to glorify or castigate Davis and thus restored balance to the evaluation of his leadership during the Civil War A long awaited work on an important topic a counterpart for T Harry Williams s celebrated Lincoln and His Generals Experts in the field will have to take Woodworth into account He writes well in a good, clear style that should appeal to a wide audience I found many passages to be pure pleasure to read The really exciting thing, though, is his insightful series of conclusions Herman Hattaway, author of How the North Won Highly readable, stimulating, and at times even provocative This fast paced and compelling narrative provides a very effective overview of Confederate command problems in the West Albert Castel, author of General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West. Read Jefferson Davis and His Generals By Steven E. Woodworth – kino-fada.fr After reading Davis Lee at War by the same author I decided to order this book from my local book shop and I loved it,so than the first book The author explains the relationships between Davis and his Generals who were trusted with the Confederacy s command in the West That so much damage could be done to the Southern cause by these men in petty infighting is amazing Beside an...Woodworth s Jefferson Davis and his Generals is a little bit like a classic melodrama, it s populated with some distinct heroes and villains The heroes of Woodworths narrative are Davis himself, Braxton Bragg, Pat Cleburne, and to a lesser extent A P Stewart The villainous scoundrels are many, and consist of many of the other generals to hold higher commands in the Confederate armies of the western theater.Some of the villains that Woodworth chooses are undoubtedly scoundrels Gideon Pillow Woodworth s Jefferson Davis and his Generals is a little bit like a classic melodrama, it s populated with some distinct heroes and villains The heroes of Woodworths narrative are Davis himself, Braxton Bragg, Pat Cleburne, and to a lesser extent A P Stewart The villainous scoundrels are many, and consist of many of the other generals to hold higher commands in the Confederate armies of the western theater.Some of the villains that Woodworth chooses are undoubtedly scoundrels Gideon Pillow and Leonidas Polk were both incompetent generals and inveterate political schemers Other generals that suffer Woodworth s vilification arecomplicated Woodworth seems to have a particular problem ...Seemingly endless Civil War books are written rehashing every minute move of Robert E Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia There are far fewer that cover the situation of the Confederacy s western armies and generals, despite, or perhaps because of the fact that it was in the west that the Confederacy lost the war With Jefferson Davis and His Generals The Failure of Confederate Command in the West, Steven E Woodworth steps up to fill this gap with a first rate book that every serious stude Seemingly endless Civil War books are written rehashing every minute move of Robert E Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia There are far fewer that cover the situation of the Confederacy s western armies and generals, despite, or perhaps because of the fact that it was in the west that the Confederacy lost the war With Jefferson Davis and His Generals The Failure of Confederate Command in the West, Steven E Woodworth steps up to fill this gap with a first rate book that every serious student of the Civil War should read He presents a clear and reasoned argument that the failure of the Confederacy in the west was not due to the quality or quantity of its armies or even of its supplies, but a direct result of a monumental failure in its high command.Woodworth writes of Jefferson Davis as a man who seemed to be eminently and uniquely qualified to become commander in chief of the Confederacy He was a West Point graduate, a Mexican War hero, had served as a particularly effective secretary o...Steven Woodworth looks at the troubled command relationship between Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his top generals between the Mississippi and Appalachians during the Civil War This mostly means Albert Sidney Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Joe Johnston, John Pemberton, and John Bell Hood with Leonidas Polk perpetually casting a shadow on the situation and other generals making appearances.This is a good book, albeit a bit flawed The topic is real interesting and covered pretty well Je Steven Woodworth looks at the troubled command relationship between Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his top generals between the Mississippi and Appalachians during the Civil War This mostly means Albert Sidney Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Joe Johnston, John Pemberton, and John Bell Hood with Leonidas Polk perpetually casting a shadow on the situation and other generals making appearances.This is a good book, albeit a bit flawed The topic is...Readable and incisive, even if Woodworth s obsessive love affair with Bragg stretches reality.Suffers from being much too defensive about Jefferson Davis.A well written and well researched look into the Confederate leadership in the Western Appalachians to the Mississippi River theater Davis interventions in this theater, often in person, were often and, ultimately, futile This book certainly punctures any notion that Rebel generalship was superior the Army of Tennessee s generals, in this telling, seem to be a quarrelsome, mediocre...Very enlightening book It is an opportunity to have all the Western generals talked about in one source and learn about their accomplishments as well as shortcomings Lincoln was faced with incompetent generals in the East and Davis was faced with them in the West It is often said that the Civil War was to be won or lost in the West and this book by Dr Woodworth gives the reader a glimpse as to how true that was for the South For the South to win and keep the West, they really needed to coo Very enl...I was really enjoying Mr Woodworth s books until I read his personal webpage and his version of history surrounding contentious topics such as abortion How to divorce an author from his politics This book was entertaining and I do love the short bios on all the major players ...Great anaylsis, interesting read, gives a decent portrayal of the leadership of Jeff Davis in the Western theatre of operations Probably the only book that can paint Bragg as an effective leader and support the claim with factual evidence and persuasion.

English
10 September 2018

Steven E. Woodworth