Oh yeah....I do disagree. There is only one name that can be on this list and that would be R.E.Lee. When I did the Union list....I did try to only name generals that were leaders of armies...and not less than that. As a leader of a corps...I think you can be....experienced...talented...dependable...charmismatic...etc.etc.etc....but you are not "great". To achieve that...you must lead an army. Ask Jefferson Davis....well...at least read his writings....if the South was so overloaded with talent....why could Jeff Davis never find suitable generals to lead his armies other than R.E. Lee? He never did find them you know....it takes a special talent to lead an "army"...and J Johnston never had it...nor did Beauregard....nor did Hood...A Johnston never really had a chance.....Bragg was horrible....

Come on guys....the South had good leadership at a few corps positions (Longstreet)...and brigade....but of armies....only one.....!!!!!

Back to 10 Best Confederate Generals:

I have discovered that A.P. Hill was arrested by both General Jackson and General Longstreet when he served in their respected commands. It was so severe that he and Longstreet nearly fought a Duel over his indiscretions.
According to Glenn Tucker ("HIGH TIDE AT GETTEYSBURG")' Longstreet Ewell was ""greatly Hill's superior in every respect.""

Bill - Hardee was an enigma, for sure. He had a great reputation in the US Army, and wrote the manual on tactics (having copied it from the French.) But his performance in the west as a corps commander was inconsistent at best and inadequate or substandard on most occasions. AP Hill was a great brigade and division commander, but probably lacked the necessary judgment and experience to be an effective corps commander... but hea, RE Lee (remember him?) thought the world of Hill, and that is a pretty good recommendation! It'sa tough list, but I would not add Hardee at Hill's expense.

In Your Top 10 Confederate Generals, I would put Hardee above A. P. Hill. If Hill had done his job right. The Confederacy would have occupied Cemetary Hill on the first day of Gettesburg. Hardee was required to slow Sherman as much as possible with a skelleton of an Army, after Hood left Georgia. An imposssible job, but carried out as well as anyone could

There is no doubt that Sherman thought well of Wheeler, as did many others! However, I personally think his raid near the end of the war cost the Confederacy much more than it gained, and it was carried out when the Confederacy could not afford to lose resources. After Wheeeler's raid, the Confederate cavalry was simply overwhelmed in the West. Forrest was a true genius, but also he was a bigotted and well...well, you probably know all that. Wheeler did serve in Cuba in the American Army and did well, but whether he should be remembered as one of the 10 best Confederate generals is doubtful at best, in my opinion....and let's remember, that is all these particular "opinion" lists are! I surely do not agree with the original list, and if you read the threds you will see that. But adding Wheeeler? I think not.

PS to my comment regarding Lt. Joseph Wheeler.
I would appreciate any comment both pro or con.
full8730@bellsouth.com
Kirk Fuller

In your list of the 10 best Confederate Generals, it is my opinion the Lt. General Joseph Wheeler should have been included.
Wheeler was the quintessential Cavalry officer. He truly understood the entire mission of cavalry while operating with a large army ie screening troop movements, scouting and timely reporting of intellegence to army headquarters, securing the flanks during large engagements, and was master of the rearguard action under General Bragg, who gave him ample opportunity to practice this craft.
What would have been the outcome of the Gettysburg campaign if Lee had Wheeler instead of Stuart. I do not think that Wheeler would have taken off on another "wild glorious ride" around Meade and broke communications with his chief.
General Sherman gave Wheeler his greatest compliment when he said, "Should we ever again go to war, Wheeler is the man to command the cavalry. A bit of unverified trivia, but I think that Wheeler was the only Confederate General officer to obtain the rank of General in the American Army after the Civil War!
Wheeler was argueable the best cavalry office of the war, he made no glorious rides around armies,and no independent raids deep behind lines cutting off his communications with his commander. His commander always know where he was, and he always know where his army was. All he did was quietly get the job done without the glory and bravdo.

Edited by author 10-23-2003 10:39 AM
  I really don't think that list is well writen. I'm not saying you should rewrite it. I'm just saying that I disagree.

pickett is da bomb

There are roughly a dozen Hood photos on the site "http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/".

Hood Descendant - should not be hard to find many good things about Hood. He was certainly too young and inexperienced to be a corps or army commander, but as a brigade and division commander he did very well. Of course, his many wounds also weighed heavily against him later in the war. But if you read accounts of his early war days, say through Gettysburg, he distinguished himself often.

As an ancestor, Ive found it hard to read alot of the political bashing that is readily available about Hood. What are some of the more heroic things he accomplished? I admit I havent researched much, but pretty discouraged about what Ive found so far. There are also very few photos of him, if anyone has some suggested web sights or comments, Id appreciate them. Thanks!

I agree about the placing of Lee, Stonewall Jackson,the 2 Hills,Jeb Stuart,and Longstreet. though i disagree about the placing of Albert S. Johnston. He was a very good general and should place higher than 10, but hey, thats just my opinion.

Edited by author 03-30-2003 05:33 PM
I mostly agree. Some Generals are in the wrong place in my opinion.

Buff - you are right about "some Union generals." I think Banks, Hunter, Sigel, Fremont, and Butler (among others) deserve to be on any list of Confederate personnel assets.

I would tend to agree with putting Lee at the top of the list. His failures are far out weighed by his brilliance of relieving Richmond and invading the north.

I would have Bedford Forrest next on the list, Simply a genius before his time.

Stonewall comes next, would have made second had it not been for the 7 days. is it just me or did he seem to like to sleep a lot !

Longstreet next, the old war-horse was really Lee's right hand man.

Tempted to put a few union names on the list as best Generals for the Confederates !