Braxton Bragg  "General Incompetence"  March 22, 1817 - September 27, 1876

The Civil War battlefield generalship of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg can best be described as a disastrous series of blunders, wasted opportunities, and senseless slaughter. His conduct in camp was equally dismal. Bragg possessed talent as an organizer and strategist, but his acerbic personality, strict approach to discipline, and mediocre intellect caused him to be thoroughly detested by many of the officers and men under his command. When Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest could stand the incompetence no longer, he addressed Bragg as follows: "I have stood your meanness as long as I intend to. You have played the part of a damned scoundrel, and are a coward, and if you were any part of a man I would slap your jaws and force you to resent it. You may as well not issue any orders to me, for I will not obey them, and I will hold you personally responsible for any further indignities you endeavor to inflict upon me... and I say to you that if you ever again try to interfere with me or cross my path it will be at the peril of you life."

Not all of Bragg's generals were as direct as Forrest, but most of them entered into a joint letter to President Jefferson Davis urging that Bragg be removed from command. Davis arrived in camp and held a joint meeting with Bragg and his generals during which Bragg's shortcomings were openly and demonstratively detailed, but Bragg remained in command.

The enlisted ranks were the real victims of Bragg's incompetence. Bragg favored the firing squad as punishment for all manner of crimes committed by his troops. When not enduring Bragg's extremely harsh discipline, they were being slaughtered through his inept generalship. Said Pvt. Sam Watkins, "None of Bragg's soldiers ever loved him. They had no faith in his ability as a general. He was looked upon as a merciless tyrant... He loved to crush the spirit of his men." Referring to Bragg's penchant for executions, he reported, "We... did not now so much love our country as we feared Bragg. Men were being led to the death stake every day."

Fascinating Fact:  Jefferson Davis was inexplicably and inexcusably loyal to Bragg long after it was obvious to most that Bragg was a great detriment to the South's ability to wage war.


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