Yes and no. Of course, it is the responsibility of subordinates to obey the orders of their superiors and Polk and others are greatly at fault for not following Bragg's orders. But one of the most important roles of an army commander (just as the boss of a company or the principal of a school) is the creation of cohension, trust and an atmosphere conducive to teamwork. Bragg abjectly failed to do this and the atmosphere of distrust and rancor that prevaded the Army of Tennessee is more Bragg's fault than anyone else's.
I would disagree. When Bragg's subordinates are failing to act like soldiers, Bragg has every reason to be hostile and unfriendly to those who - if Davis actually had supported him as much as he supported say, Lee - should have been removed for the good of the army, or at least disciplined.
And more to the point (than Bragg being wronged personally), there is no basis for "cohesion, trust, and an atmosphere of teamwork" to be created under such circumstances. Had Bragg's subordinates acted like soldiers, most of the reason for Bragg's ill will towards them disappears (I say most because there are occasions such as him blaming Breckinridge for being late to the Kentucky invasion when it wasn't his fault).
But for instance, take this (despite the error on Breckinridge's rank).
http://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/5296
Obviously Bragg's line about "You Kentuckians" is inappropriate. But a good subordinate would swallow that and move on. Not . . . justify Bragg's bad attitude.
Hello Elf,
My sense is that his ceiling was probably as (a good) brigade commander, in a world where there was enough military talent to go around, and he was given time to grow into the role.
He was horrible at staff work, and sometimes insubordinate. But his reputation was built on battles like Eltham's Landing, Second Bull Run, and the West Wood. As I said, he was a man who, if you needed that hill taken, would take that hill (if it could be taken at all), and do it without hesitation. He was hard charging, and inspired his men. Even qualities like that were not always easy to find. And even allowing that many of his men were Texans, it was still a valuable trait to have at that point.
Agreed. I think division command is iffy just because Hood's examples at that level are much, much shorter - and his terrible administrative ability undoubtedly hurt his division's overall effectiveness more so (relative to its potential) than it did at brigade level.
Still, as you said, if you needed a hill taken, send for Hood.
No argument on any point. Well said.
First off: Most of the leadership of the AoT deserved cashiering, on the spot. Round up some experienced sergeants if you have to. That entire command structure was a train wreck for most of the war. The problem went well beyond Bragg. Most of his generals could be fairly described as a mutinous lot. You can start with Polk (who had no business being back in the military, save as a chaplain) and work your way down from there.
But when you have an officer who seems to have enemies of almost everyone he works with, I think you have to say he's a big part of the problem. Those traits were already much in evidence even in the old army (the fragging incidents, etc.). The explosive temper, the remarkable ability to wound other men unthinkingly . . . And when you add in the fact that tensions were not nearly so bad once Joe Johnston took over . . . I think that says something about Bragg, and it's not a good thing.
I don't agree here. Bragg was a stern disciplinarian - we can argue on if the word "martinet" applies - and someone who had high expectations. And he's dealing with a group of subordinates who, as you acknowledge, were mutinious.
I'm sure Bragg didn't help matters, but the thing is, it's not his job to be on friendly terms with his subordinates. His subordinates are supposed to act like soldiers whether they'd want to spend more than five minutes in his company in any other setting. And they didn't.
But in the end, he couldn't win, even when he had a chance to, and even when he had subordinates who might and could carry out his orders. I know you like Bragg better than most, so I'll just say that he was not without his talents - and not without excuses - but he was just too often his own worst enemy. And he stayed in power largely because Jeff Davis didn't have anyone obviously good to replace him with - though I think he too quickly overlooked Hardee.*
I suppose this is one of the remarkable things that made Lee such an effective commander - to me. We can debate his flaws - we know he had them. But in an army absolutely filled with hotheaded, prickly, egotists - often amateurs - Lee somehow managed to keep them loyal and effective, if they had any ability at all (and if they didn't, they got shipped off quietly somewhere else, at least while he had the luxury early in the war).
I agree. Bragg - and we can and probably will continue to debate how much to blame him for how much that played a role in the atmosphere of the AoT - very much lacked that quality of keeping hotheaded, prickly egoists focused on something other than picking fights with each other and him.
Although I would note that Lee had a better crop (Even early on) than Bragg did in that regard. Polk was the greatest soldier Lincoln had after Grant, bar none. This is true before Bragg being, in a word, unpleasant has had a chance to say, alienate Breckenridge.
That's why I blame Bragg's subordinates. Bragg has this problem in the Kentucky campaign, before his subordinates have any reason to regard him as incorrigibly hostile or mean spirited. And it goes downhill from there.
Certainly Bragg had no charm to speak of, but this is not an army that got tired of continual abuse at this point.
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* Which brings me back to the subject of this thread. I doubt that Hardee was brilliant enough to have salvaged the West, had he been promoted to replace Bragg after the post-Stones River revolt - he would still have to work with a lot of bad generals, and a terrible strategic situation and worse logistics. But he strikes me as the one man with the requisite experience at corps command and basic leadership capability to have been reasonably passable as a commander of the AoT at that point. It's always been striking to me that he was never given the chance, given how awful the alternatives were.
I am inclined to agree. Hardee comes off to me as Longstreet lite - which is unfortunately nearly as good as we can get in the AoT (Cleburne only being at division level and we already covered him).
On the same note, I'd say Bragg should have been a staff officer. Bragg had a gift for things outside tactics and people skills, or at least enough talent to stand out.
Put him in a position where his brain can make up for his mouth and his awkwardness in the heat of action, and everyone in gray benefits.
