Best American General of All Time?

[Fife]

Imagine an alternate history of the War of the Northern Invasion if Gen. Sidney Johnston hadn't caught one in the popliteal at the Peach Orchard.



(Thanks again, Mike!)

Is he your pick for the best?

Well, one of my favorites; along with Patrick Cleburne, both of whom were killed during the war (Johnston, Shiloh 1862; Cleburne, Franklin 1864). It's hard to say how great Johnston could have been or would have been if he had survived Shiloh. It's to be granted that he didn't do everything just right at Donelson and the Cumberland corridor, and that his getting killed at Shiloh was especially bad given that he left Beauregard in control to essentially lose the whole damn war in the west. I just like him, and wonder often how things might have been different if Shiloh had played out differently.

I'm not really qualified to say who's the "best."

[DBTrek]

What did pineapplemike draw for you there?
Is that a green Wilford Brimley?

[brewster]

Tough one without further criteria. Great administrators like Ike and Nimitz win wars, but aren't sexy. Cowboys like Patton and Halsey made great headlines, not entirely without intention. I don't know if any Civil war general can be fairly judged, particularly southern, there was simply too much spin antebellum.

I'll vote for Washington. Unlike most subsequent American generals he didn't have a huge MIC behind him, and plenty of tax dollars (excepting those of the South of course). He didn't even have nation to use nationalism to rally the troops. He had to scramble the whole time just to keep his army together, in the field, and supplied, never mind get them to a battlefield at the right place and time. And unlike most General officers, his neck was on the line if he lost, he'd have been hung as a traitor.

[heydaralon]

Imagine an alternate history of the War of the Northern Invasion if Gen. Sidney Johnston hadn't caught one in the popliteal at the Peach Orchard.



(Thanks again, Mike!)

Is he your pick for the best?

Well, one of my favorites; along with Patrick Cleburne, both of whom were killed during the war (Johnston, Shiloh 1862; Cleburne, Franklin 1864). It's hard to say how great Johnston could have been or would have been if he had survived Shiloh. It's to be granted that he didn't do everything just right at Donelson and the Cumberland corridor, and that his getting killed at Shiloh was especially bad given that he left Beauregard in control to essentially lose the whole damn war in the west. I just like him, and wonder often how things might have been different if Shiloh had played out differently.

I'm not really qualified to say who's the "best."

I will have to check them out. Are you a fan of Shelby Foote? As far as Civil War historians go, do you consider him the best? I got his trilogy as a Christmas gift.

[Fife]

I will have to check them out. Are you a fan of Shelby Foote? As far as Civil War historians go, do you consider him the best? I got his trilogy as a Christmas gift.

I've read his war history a few times; I'm looking at my first edition of the three volumes as I type this. I have a personal affection for Foote, and his best friend Walker Percy, that the anonymity of this forum will not allow me to elaborate upon; other than to say you can treasure those books.

[heydaralon]

I will have to check them out. Are you a fan of Shelby Foote? As far as Civil War historians go, do you consider him the best? I got his trilogy as a Christmas gift.

I've read his war history a few times; I'm looking at my first edition of the three volumes as I type this. I have a personal affection for Foote, and his best friend Walker Percy, that the anonymity of this forum will not allow me to elaborate on; other than to say you can treasure those books.

I ended up purchasing that Queer is Man book by Percy based on your recommendation in the Kekule (language problem) thread.

Do you think that the Civil War was a fundamentally "Lost Cause" for the South? I have looked at graphs that showed the disparity between Northern and Southern industrial production in other books, and many historians are of the opinion that the whole campaign was doomed from the start, also taking into account the fact that the British were unwilling to purchase the South's cotton because they had their own source in India and Egypt, thus cutting off a major trading partner. Do you believe that with the right leadership and lucky breaks, the South could have achieved it goal? Also, if that had happened, how do you see relations between the two countries today? Are you of the opinion, that our current situation would be better if we had simply split up into 2 more homogenous nations/cultures in the late nineteenth century?

[Speaker to Animals]

General Tso is the greatest general.

[brewster]

General Tso is the greatest general.

He had bite, but was ultimately too sweet to be successful.

[heydaralon]

General Tso is the greatest general.

I can't eat that shit very much anymore. I swear to god, those Chinese restaurants put fucking ground up ambien in their food, because after I eat it, I always feel like passing out. It is delicious, but it has to be eaten around 9pm because if I eat anything from there at lunch, it makes me feel like I chugged a six pack.

[Speaker to Animals]

General Tso is the greatest general.

He had bite, but was ultimately too sweet to be successful.

Wong answer.