"Best Confederate General?" Topic

Which general on the Confederate side of the American Civil War do you think was the best?

Stonewall Jackson

Which ever stayed loyal to their oath to defend the constitution and nation and fought on the side of the Union, like Thomas for example.

Jubilation T Cornpone.

McClellan?

Best General who commanded an army-Lee. Best General who didn't command an army-Cleburne.

I would go for Longstreet!

Joe Johnston

Best/most trusted general has got to be R.E. Lee. Best second bananas: Cleburne*, Longstreet*, Jackson in that order.

John

*Switch positions between these two if you like. They were both fine commanders.

1. Lee
2. Jackson
3. Forrest
4. Cleburne

It depends on the context.
Army Generals Lee, Cleburne
Corps Generals Jackson, Longstreet

Generals Floyd, Wise, and Pillow

Jackson

Well Forrest certainly was the souths best terrorist and murderer.

+1 Rapier.

You left out war criminal too.

Interesting,we were asked for our favourite Union general even if not the best. Here we get the best? Bias? Say it isn't so?

Actually shows how bad the Confederate generals were when Bragg retains control as long as he does. Not to mention some of the other clowns they had.

And people talk about Southerners not being able to let it go….

As a diehard Yankee, the best Confederate general from that perspective is, of course, Braxton Bragg.

Had to check, Tango01 is still in the Dawghouse.

I'm surprised we the conversation got as far as it did before the usual type of asshole showed up to on the parade.

Lets see if they serve the good brand of dogfood here, or that really cheap crap from WalMart.

Getting back on track, Stonewall.

James Longstreet

+1 uglyfatbloke!

Another Longstreet vote.

Best would be Lee, but honorable mention to Joe Johnston
He was often given crap assignments with a defeated army.

Lee, of course.

Lee

Have to agree with 138, not a wide field of choice once you get past the top end but I've always liked John B. Gordon.

James Longstreet in the East and Patrick Cleburne in the West.

Cleburne.

Lee, Jackson, then A.P. Hill in the east

Forrest and Cleburne in the west

Patrick Cleburne and Byran Grimes

Meade

Longstreet and Lee.

Jackson, Lee, Longstreet

The best Confederate general? A DEAD Confederate general!

not a wide field of choice once you get past the top end

I don't see how you come to that conclusion. General-Lee: Lt. General-Longstreet, Jackson, Taylor, Forrest and Hampton: Maj. General-Cleburne, Mahone and Gordon. Near misses would include Early, Magruder, McCulloch and Watie.

R.E. Lee was the best South had. Lee was not the greatest general of the civil war, however he is best the the South had. Both generals Longstreet and Jackson were solid/ superior commanders as well and deserve the 2nd and 3 place. In fact all three would be all-star commanders on ether side during the Civil War.

However, after you list the three generals above, the rest of the southern generals are a pretty motley assortment,ranging from very good to awful. Don't get me wrong I know the Union Army had more then it share so-so to awful military commanders, it just that the South seem to have more then it fair share.

Lee for me without question. I think without him the war is over in '63 at the latest.

Cleburne & Forrest

Cleburne and Jackson

Stonewalls of the east and west

Shelby Foote (not an Historian) did say that he thought the Civil War had two geniuses, Lincoln and Forrest. Forrest was a bad man but he was a superb field commander. No denying it. I believe the topic was best General, not the best person. I wish Forrest had shot Bragg, he sure thought about it.

Bragg remained the AOT commander because of his personal relationship with Davis. Says more about Davis than it does Bragg. I still wish Forrest would had shot Bragg.

Mad Monkey 1: the bad news for you is that some people over here feel the same way about the ECW.

Robert E. Lee

Rapier said:

Well Forrest certainly was the souths best terrorist and murderer.

and 138th added "War Criminal".

I'd like to know what evidence you have that supports these accusations?

Another vote for Lee. Sometimes I wonder how long the war would have gone on if he had been slightly less aggressive.

Then I remember that in the end he was up against Grant who fully understood how to use the Union juggernaut, and decide that it doesn't really matter…

General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

I'd like to know what evidence you have that supports these accusations?

The surrendered and murdered of Ft Pillow – war crime. See Andrew Ward, "River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre in the American Civil War" 2005 is probably the best modern account.

Shooting white officers of African American troops was official Confederate police of course, so Forrest could claim the SS defense I suppose "Ve vere only obaying ze orders" – aka "The Nuremberg Defence (Befehl ist Befehl). You see Confederate Secretary of War Seddon in June 1864 wrote: "As to the white officers serving with negro troops, we ought never to be inconvenienced with such prisoners." So there is certainly a lot of blame to go around in the OKW, sorry Confederate High Command.

Sorry it doesn't portray Forrest as the "Christian Knight"(or should that be "Grand Wizard") he became at Pulaski, TN in August of 1866.

The "Strange Fruit" of the KKK make him a terrorist. But then I suppose you'd say that the KKK was merely a 'gentleman's club'aimed at preserving the Southern way of life and culture. Even if there is more culture in a petri dish than in the anti-bellum south preserved by Forrest and his ilk.

But you know what Murphy, if you want to celebrate Nathan Bedford Forrest go right ahead, because that tells us all we need.

But you know what Murphy, if you want to celebrate Nathan Bedford Forrest go right ahead, because that tells us all we need.

Who's celebrating. I asked a question of your statement.

Nice try with Alinsky rule #12 138. Generalize much?

Interesting that I ask a question, and you jump off on a generalization like that.

But if you want to talk Ft. Pillow, why not remember that no matter "what" a "modern author" may write, investigations of Ft. Pillow show no evidence that Forrest ordered anything such as what you implied. In fact the investigation by Sherman (who basically said, we are going to investigate Forrest, find him guilty, and hang him), could find no supporting evidence whatsoever to support Sherman's desires to hang him from a tree.

Sorry it doesn't portray Forrest as the "Christian Knight"(or should that be "Grand Wizard") he became at Pulaski, TN in August of 1866.

The "Strange Fruit" of the KKK make him a terrorist. But then I suppose you'd say that the KKK was merely a 'gentleman's club'aimed at preserving the Southern way of life and culture. Even if there is more culture in a petri dish than in the anti-bellum south preserved by Forrest and his ilk.

As we are discussing Confederate Generals on this post, which means between 1861 and 1865, your decision to bring in Post-war actions is irrelevant to the discussion, except to allow you to fan your misguided flames a little more.

But hey, let's not let historical facts get in the way or your generalizations and implications on people who simply asked you a question….

Ft Pillow assault as told by Achilles Clark of the 20th Tennessee cavalry. PDF link

I believe this guy above all other accounts (especially the revised modern ones) a) because he is a Confederate cavalry Trooper, b) because he was there and c) because he shows remorse and restraint. This also falls in line with some of the other accounts both Union and Confederate.

In case you decide not to read the account, here is one of the most damning statements…

"I with several others tried to stop the butchery and at one time
had partially succeeded. but Gen. Forrest ordered them shot down like dogs."

--Achilles Clark