"Best Continental Line General? Greene!" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

Best Continental Line General?

And in the final round of voting:

33% said "Greene"
18% said "Arnold, Benedict"
17% said "Washington, George"

Who was the worst?
Lee? Gates? Putnam?

🤔 "Line": should eliminate Washington, since he was over all commander.

I'd agree with Greene, since he was there to the end. Arnold was good as well… but alas, he switched sides. Would have been extremely interesting if he had not.

Wayne had his moments, as well as a few others.

Most had their "moment/moments" of brilliance/competency (even the ones I listed above) but few had great consistency. It can be argued that even Greene wasn't the "best" as a Line General as he regularly lost battle.(but won the strategic victories)

I agree with Greene, however, I would have thought that Arnold would be discounted when his good and bad accomplishments were weighed. I always liked John Sullivan, solid, no huge mistakes and no great victories. He was one of the few generals that Washington entrusted with independent command. I seem to recall that his campaign against the Iroquois Confederacy involved a majority of the active Continental troops. He didn't win a smashing victory, however, he walked through hostile territory with impunity and did not lose.

I am weighing Arnold only as a Continental line general. I'm leaving his betrayal out of the equation. As the question was "best Continental line general". As such I think he was good and I give him much of the credit for Saratoga. If we could throw in his naval escapade, he looks better. But that too, is not Continental line.

Where would he be in the pantheon of commanders of the revolution, if he had not been unfairly slighted, he had less of an overwhelming ego, hadn't met a Beautiful loyalist woman and been wounded and thus in the position and situation he was in. But alas… he was and he turned traitor and we won. Such is fate and history.