Who was the general for the South?

Answer 1

Answer At the beginning of the war, General Albert Sidney Johnston was considered the highest ranking and most experienced leader in the South. He was killed at Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Later, General Robert E. Lee was placed in command of all the Confederate forces.

Answer 2

The person consider the best general for the South changes from different time periods.

In the very early part of the the War the Man considered the best General for the South was P.G.T. Beauregard and it was believed that he had proven his worth at Fort Sumter and at 1st Manassas/Bull Run. A major public fall out with President Jeff Davis saw him relegated from the main theater and sent out West to serve under A.S. Johnston and his failures at Shiloh and Corinth tarnished his reputation and cost him his place in the public perception as the best Southern general. A brief resurgence in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign and the Battles for Petersburg saw his reputation improve but his inability to effect either General Thomas or Sherman's campaigns left him finishing his Civil War Career with the reputation of being a good general but generally underperformed.

Beauregard was replaced in the public mindset as the best Southern General by the two Johnston's, Albert Sidney and Joseph Eggleston.

Albert Sidney was personally thought of by Davis as the best general the South had and everywhere he went when he first joined the Confederacy he was cheered and adored. He was tasked with defending the largest front of the war against an enemy that outnumbered him everywhere by a margin of 3:1. He could get no more support than he already had and so tried to bluff his enemies into thinking he had more resources at his disposal than he really did. His bluff worked until the winter then as the Federals called his bluff and the Confederates were forced from Kentucky his star fell in the public perception and he was no longer thought of as the best. He managed to redeem himself by building the Army of Mississippi and having a good level of success on the first day of Shiloh and his death there succored his place in South hearts and minds as one of their best generals.

Joseph Eggleston was considered by even the British and French observers as the South's best strategist. He had a tremendous pre-war record and had done sterling work in building the Army of the Shenandoah, fighting at 1st Manassas and then building the newer Army of the Potomac but things Behind the Scenes were not right. He had fallen out with Davis over a petty thing and didn't communicate properly with the President because Richmond proved to have all the security of a paper bag. He was weakened as Jackson was sent off to the Valley and Holmes was sent to the Carolina's and performed a magnificent withdrawal up the James Peninsular against McClellan's Army of the Potomac which outnumbered him 2:1. His wounding at Seven Pines/Fair Oaks saved him the embarrassment of a public inquiry int what went wrong and his reputation as one of the best was maintained until Vicksburg when many blamed him for the fall - though many of their accusations were unfounded. He suffered heavily in the public mindset during the Atlanta Campaign and was then regarded as a General who was afraid to fight but after Hood's tenure his reputation was once again restored and his good work in the Carolina's meant he finished the war on a high.

Robert E. Lee was early on regarded as a failure. "Granny Lee" he was called, and the "King of Spades" for his failures in West Virginia and his work digging entrenchments. Taking over from Johnston he was considered a poor substitute. He reinforced the Army he inherited and launched on the Seven Days campaign, which earned him the respect of the Confederates and the scorn of D.H. Hill, drove McClellan away and then defeated John Pope at 2nd Manassas to succor his place as the South's new bright hope. Failure in Maryland followed by victory at Fredericksburg and the great victory at Chancellorsville succored Lee's place in public perception as the best general of the South and even the failure at Gettysburg failed to diminish that. He did good work in the overland campaign but was eventually trapped and forced to give up. Nevertheless he ended the war as the undisputed greatest general the South had - as far as the public were concerned.

Joe Johnston and Robert E. Lee, when asked, both said that there was only one man who was the best General the South had and that it was neither of them. The claimed that the Best Southern General was Nathan Bedford Forrest. Both claimed that he hadn't been used well and his talents had gone to waste.

Both also spoke highly of Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet and Patrick Cleburne. Johnston spoke highly of William Hardee and Lee spoke highly of John Gordon. And there was no Southern general so frequently mentioned in dispatches than John S. Mosby.

Generally however the majority of people consider Robert E. Lee to be the best.

Answer 3

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863) was shot by his own troops at Chancellorville and died from pneumonia following surgery to cut off his arm.

Answer 4

Lee