Confederate Generals Thread

[Texas Redneck]

We will start with Robert E. Lee

[Constantine]

TJ 'Stonewall' Jackson

http://www.civilwar-pictures.com/g/albums/confederate-soldiers-officers/general_stonewall_jackson.jpg

[ivory bill]

Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (see avatar)

[edit] Brice's Crossroad
Forrest's greatest victory came on June 10, 1864, when his 3,500-man force clashed with 8,500 men commanded by Union Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads. Here, his mobility of force and superior tactics led to victory. He swept the Union forces from a large expanse of southwest Tennessee and northern Mississippi. Forrest set up a position for an attack to repulse a pursuing force commanded by Sturgis, who had been sent to impede Forrest from destroying Union supplies and fortifications. When Sturgis's Federal army came upon the crossroad, they collided with Forrest's cavalry.[29] Sturgis ordered his infantry to advance to the front line to counteract the cavalry. The infantry, tired and weary and suffering under the heat, were quickly broken and sent into mass retreat. Forrest sent a full charge after the retreating army and captured 16 artillery pieces, 176 wagons and 1,500 stands of small arms. In all, the maneuver cost Forrest 96 men killed and 396 wounded. The day was worse for Union troops, which suffered 223 killed, 394 wounded and 1,623 men missing. The losses were a deep blow to the black regiment under Sturgis's command. In the hasty retreat, they stripped off commemorative badges that read "Remember Fort Pillow", to avoid goading the Confederate force pursuing them.[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest

[Texas Redneck]

Robert E. Lee
http://library.thinkquest.org/3055/graphics/people/images/lee.jpg

Time Line:

January 19, 1807-Born
1818-Henry Lee "Light Horde Harry" died.
1825-Admitted to West Point
1829-Graduated (with honors)
1831-Married Mary Ann Randolph Cutis
1829 - Corp of Engineers
1838-Promoted to captain in the Mexican War
1852-1855 -Superintendent at West Point
1855- promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Second Cavalry
1859 -Suppressed the Raid by John Brown on Harpers Ferry
1861-Sent to Set up Atlantic Defenses
1862-Appointed advisor to Jefferson Davis.
May 1862- Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Sept. 1862- Defeated the Union at Anteitem
December 1862-Defeated the Union at Fredericksburg
May 1863- Won at Chancellorsville
July 1863- Defeated at Gettysburg
April 9th 1865-Surrendered at Appomatox Court House
October 12, 1870 Robert E. Lee passed away.

Biography:

Robert Edward Lee, son of Henry lee was born on January 19, 1807. His father had been a Cavalry Officer during the American Revolution, and had been a close friend of George Washington. Most of the family's money had been gambled away by his father, who died in 1818. Lee lived his youth in Alexandria Virginia. He was appointed to West point in 1825 were he exceeded in his scholastics and graduated with honors in 1829. After graduation, he joined the Corps of Engineers, and assisted in a variety of projects and construction of military bases and ports. Martha Washington's great granddaughter, Mary Ann Randolph Curtis married Lee in 1831. In 1838, Lee was finally promoted to captain in 1838 during the Mexican War. Lee gained a reputation during the battles of Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, and Chapultepec during the Mexican War. in 1852 he was a superintendent at West point, where he remained for 3 years until 1855 ,when he was made lieutenant colonel of the Second Cavalry. Lee was in charge of the force that suppressed John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

Robert E. Lee feeling that his loyalty belonged more to the state than the Union (STATES RIGHTS). He declined an offer the lead a union army, and joined up with the south, offering his services to Virginia in the April of 1861. Jefferson Davis appointed Robert a General in the Confederate Army. While a general, he failed to stop the invasion of Virginia, and was put in charge of Coastal Defenses, after which he became an advisor to Jefferson Davis. During May of 1862, Joseph E. Johnston was wounded during the Peninsular Campaign. and Lee was thrust into the command of the Confederate's strongest army, which he renamed the Army of Northern Virginia.

Lee then won a number of victories in the following months. In June of '62, Lee drove the Union army away from the Richmond area in the Seven Days' Battle. Lee then drove the northern army back into Washington D.C. after the second Battle of Bull Run. Antietam soon followed on September 17, 1862, where he won a costly battle with northern General McClellan. Soon after, Lee began his with drawl through Virginia, where again he won a costly battle on the Union at Fredericksburg in December.

n May of 1863, Lee staged a brilliant but costly victory over the Union at Chancellorsville, Where he lost one of his most useful and bold commanders, Lieutenant Stonewall Jackson. During this battle Lee split his force into three parts to confuse and defeat a much larger union force, which he did successfully, but casualties were as severe on his own forces as they were to the northern forces.

Lee, although hindered by the lose of his most successful Lieutenant Jackson, began his second invasive maneuvers in the summer of 1863. That summer, he led his forces to Gettysburg Pennsylvania, where he engaged the north in the largest Battle of the war, and the turning point of the war. After this battle, he was forced back into Virginia in a series of bloody skirmishes. He was hindered by the lose of a number of his leading officers, such as James Longstreet, and J.E.B. Stuart. Although weakened, he brilliantly held off Grant, and inflicted heavy loses on the Northerners. Although brilliantly maneuvering, he was unable to seize the initiative and take the offensive. Lee was forced to retreat into Richmond and Petersburg. In April of 1865, Grant broke through Southern lines, and Lee attempted to retreat to Confederate Forces in North Carolina, but was trapped by Grant at Appomatox Court House. On April 9th, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant, and the Symbol of the South and the General in Chief was no longer.

Letters by Robert E. Lee:

His Excellency Jefferson Davis Hdqrs E. N. V. near Hagerstown, Md, July 5, 1863.


President Jd

Mr. President,

My letter of yesterday should have informed you of the position of this army. Though reduced in numbers by the hardships and battles through which it has passed since leaving the Rappahannock its condition is good and its confidence unimpaired. When crossing the Potomac into Maryland, I had calculated upon the river remaining fordable during the summer, so as to enable me to recross at my pleasure, but a series of storms commencing the day after our entrance into Maryland has placed the river beyond fording stage and the present storms will keep it so for at least a week. I shall therefore have to accept battle if the enemy offers it, whether I wish to or not, and as the result is in the hands of the Sovereign Ruler of the universe and known to him only, I deem it prudent to make every arrangement in our power to meet any emergency that may arrive.

From information gathered from the papers I believe that the troops from the North Carolina and the coast of Virginia, under Generals Foster and Day have been ordered to the Potomac and that recently additional reinforcements have been sent from the coast of South Carolina to General Banks. If I am correct in my opinion this will liberate most of the troops in those regions and should not your Excellency have already done so I earnestly recommend that all that can be spared be concentrated on the upper Rappahannock under General Beauregard with directions to cross the river and make demonstration upon Washington. This course will answer the double purpose of affording protection to the capital at Richmond and relieving the pressure upon this army. I hope your Excellency will understand that I am not in the least discouraged or that my faith in the protection of an All merciful Providence, or in the fortitude of this army is at all shaken. But though conscious that the enemy has been much shattered in the recent battle I am aware that he can be
easily reinforced while no addition can be made to our numbers. The measure therefore that I have recommended is altogether one of a prudential nature.

I am most respectfully your obedient servant,

R. E. Lee, General



Farewell to the Army of Northern Virginia:

written the day after the surrender to Grant.



by Robert E. Lee

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.

I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged.

You may take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.

With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.

[Texas Redneck]

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
http://library.thinkquest.org/3055/graphics/people/images/beauregard.gif


Biography:

Beauregard was born a member of a prominent Louisiana family, and graduated in 1838 from West Point and fought in the Mexican War. In April 1861, Beauregard commanded Confederate troops at Charleston, where he initiated the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the first official conflict of the war. He also played a major role in the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

In April 1862, Beauregard took command on the western front, but illness soon forced him to retire. He later defended the south Atlantic coast. In 1864 he fought in Virginia and then commanded troops in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. After 1865, Beauregard was active in the railroad industry, managed the Louisiana state lottery, and defended his military reputation.

[Texas Redneck]

President Jefferson Davis
http://library.thinkquest.org/3055/graphics/people/images/davis.jpg

Biography:

Born in Christian (now Todd) County, Kentucky , on June 3, 1808, he grew up in Mississippi as the youngest of ten. He spent two grueling years as the only Protestant in an all Roman Catholic boarding school. After this, he moved on to Transylvania University. In 1824, Davis went to West Point and graduated in 1828, 23rd out of 32, with over 327 demerits on his record. Davis served at several frontier posts, and in the Black Hawk War, but resigned in 1835.

Davis married in 1835, but contracted malaria, and lost his wife only three months after marriage. Riddled with misery, he moved to a small plantation in Mississippi, near his brother's. For ten years he managed this plantation with a few slaves. In 1845, he married Virginia Howell, 18 years younger than he. The next year he was given command of the 1st Mississippi Rifles, a volunteer group from the area in the Mexican War. After the war, he was elected as a democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1847. In 1851 he resigned from the Senate to make an unsuccessful run for governorship. He returned to the senate in 1853 where he remained until 1857, as a spokesman for slavery and states rights.

He was hoping to retain control of the entire southern army, but was inaugurated as President on February 18, 1861. Disputed is the intelligence of the decision of Davis as a Presidential leader. He neglected to delegate authority in the least, and kept close and loyal friends in position of office despite obvious proof of negligence and disability. He neglected the civil authority of government, and concentrated deeply on the military aspects.

In April 1865, as the Confederacy was collapsing, Davis fled from Richmond, Virginia, hoping to continue the war from the Deep South or from west of the Mississippi, or to organize a government in exile. On May 10th, he was captured by Federal cavalrymen in southern Georgia. For 2 years he was held in prison and threatened with trial for treason. His suffering during his imprisonment won him the affection of the Southern people, who came to regard him as a martyr to their lost cause. Although indicted, Davis was never brought to trial, and he was released on bond in 1867. His subsequent ventures into business were unsuccessful. Believing that he had done nothing to be pardoned for, he refused to seek a pardon and remained ineligible for public office. Davis retired to Behavior, Mississippi, an estate that he inherited from a generous family friend, and devoted himself to writing in defense of the South in general and himself in particular. His Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government was published in 1881. Davis died on December 6, 1889, in New Orleans.

[Texas Redneck]

Braxton Bragg
http://library.thinkquest.org/3055/graphics/people/images/bragg.gif


Biography:

Born in Warren County, North Carolina on March 22, 1817, Braxton Bragg graduated from West Point in 1837, and served as an Artillery Officer until 1856.

Bragg resigned in 1856 to manage his Louisiana plantation. Due to his southern heritage and profession, Bragg volunteered for confederate service in 1861. Sent to the western front, he replaced P.G.T. Beauregard as Commander in June 1862. Until December 1863, he commanded the Western Confederate army, leading it several times to the brink of victory. For some strange reason, Bragg failed to grasp the opportunities presented to him, and was thus defeated. After service as a Major General, he became personal adviser to his close acquaintance, Jefferson Davis. After the war he took up civil engineering and got involved in the railroad industry.