Best American General of All Time?

[heydaralon]

In the opinion of the message board, who is the best American general? I am very partial to William Tecumseh Sherman, but my knowledge on these matters is limited. In this thread, we are also considering generals of the Confederacy, which may create semantic problems for some.

Which generals really excelled?

Patton?
Eisenhower?
McArthur?
Bradley?
Westmoreland?
Grant?

Which American generals do you all feel are historically overrated?

[GloryofGreece]

Probably Nathan Bedford Forrest , Stonewall, or Sherman. It depends on if your talking tactics or strategic effectiveness.

My vote goes to Patton. He would take our surplus, munitions, supplies etc. incorporate the German soldiers and then reconquer Eastern Europe. Of course he was assassinated for his boldness.

[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!)

[DBTrek]

Mills?

[heydaralon]

Mills?

Thats all well and good, until your refrigerator goes off and your milk spoils. In which case I would turn to the leadership of General Electric.

[Fife]

Mills?

Oh, we gonna do that then?

Rancor.


Yes, it is I, good old General Rancor. I'm back, big as life and twice as ugly! You did everything except eat me, and I'm still alive. All Steele did was blow off a couple of arms. That's no biggie, no big thing. Now I got plenty of arms!! Big arms!! Pretty arms!! I got arms up the wazoo!

[heydaralon]

Probably Nathan Bedford Forrest , Stonewall, or Sherman. It depends on if your talking tactics or strategic effectiveness.

My vote goes to Patton. He would take our surplus, munitions, supplies etc. incorporate the German soldiers and then reconquer Eastern Europe. Of course he was assassinated for his boldness.

Stonewall Jackson seems to be quite well regarded (don't know enough to say why). As far a Forrest goes, the only factoid about him I know is his role in the creation of the KKK. I don't know how he performed during the Civil War.

As an aside, it seems like damn near all these Civil War Generals had some crazy mutton chops. Our professor spent like half a lecture period one class just talking about the facial hair during this time, because people in the class kept laughing and interrupting the lecture over the pictures. The main thing I remember from the class (aside from that), is how McClellan kept fucking the dog. If my memory serves me, he found Confederate battleplans and disregarded them at one point. Then there was General Hooker, whose namesake might be the origin of the term, because some thots followed his army around.

[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?

[C-Mag]

We should include all grade officers, including Navy and Air Force as well.

My list of Great American Flag Officers includes includes: (most recent back)
Tommy Franks - the last American General that was a kick ass field commander, kicked ass as a one star in Desert Storm, kicked as in Afghanistan and stuck to his guns and retired over Bush Admin pressures to reduce troop numbers further and further for the Iraq invasion.
Norman Schwarzkopf - destroyed the fourth largest army in the world in a matter of hours, 28 years later it's still very impressive
Chesty Puller - completely underrated, commanded troops in combat at every level, maybe our best general ever.
George S Patton
Dwight D Eisenhower - He held together a huge alliance, and kept a lot of barking princesses happy enough to see it to an end
Chester Nimitz
Jim Gavin
US Sherman
Stonewall Jackson
Admiral Farragut - He's the one that really won the Civil War, doesn't get enough credit.
Winfield Scott - Forgotten US General, disposed of Mexico quickly and efficiently
Anthony Wayne - our best General of the Revolutionary War, effectively used Militia and Native Americans along with Continental Soldiers. He did not shun Militia and Natives like most of his peers. The revolution was won on the frontiers, North and South.

[heydaralon]

We should include all grade officers, including Navy and Air Force as well.


Chesty Puller - completely underrated, commanded troops in combat at every level, maybe our best general ever.

I listened to the Jocko episode on this guy. Quite a life