American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

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Gen. Blake Strickler
Confederate General-in-Chief
El Presidente 2010 - 2012

Excellent defensive mind, but he only had one gear - reverse.

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Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

The evidence is that Lee didn't have much patience for subordinates who showed insufficient aggressiveness to suit him and got them sent elsewhere whenever he could.

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MG Mike Mihalik
Forrest's Cavalry Corps
AoWest/CSA

The idea that Joe Johnston was some sort of military genius is one of the most bizarre trends in recent history and needs to be put down out back behind the shed. Johnston failed to link together two crucial ideas: 1.) War is a continuation of politics by other means. 2.) Wars between democracies are a contest of wills between voters. Johnston's strategy continually eroded the Confederate will to fight while offering morale boosts to the Union. Aside from First Manassas, he failed every opportunity afforded to him and lacked the ability to gamble or even attempt to seize the initiative to outmaneuver his foe except for two circumstances at Seven Pines and Bentonville. His Fabian, defensive strategy--something Joe Johnston supporters often repeat--not only proved insufficient in a war characterized by industrial era means of resupply but also failed to provide a positive casualty ratio in the CSA's favor. He lost more men than McClellan at Yorktown; he lost around the same number of men as Sherman during his tenure as AoT commander during the Atlanta Campaign; and he lost around the same men as Sherman during the Carolinas campaign. While Lee cost the CSA more casualties than Johnston, his losses brought strategic success and tactical victories, severely bloodied Union armies and inflicted higher casualties, and generally kept the CSA war effort alive. Johnston ranks near the bottom of CSA generals--below Bragg and slightly better than Pemberton.

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Gen Treuting

I can't argue too much. I think Johnston would have done better in a position of lesser responsibility but we will never know. Some guys just got put into positions which were beyond their ability. Most were quickly demoted or removed but others would cling to their positions through influence or reputation (Leonidas Polk - Braxton Bragg). I wonder how Johnston would have performed had he not always been placed in the most demanding roles in the Confederacy. His list of jobs was not easy!

1) Organize and command the forces at Harper's Ferry against the "Army of Pennsylvania" in early 1861 (he succeeded with this)
2) Organize and command the forces in northern Virginia to oppose the large new Army of the Potomac in 1861 - 1862 (not so well with this and he ended up being outflanked)
3) Sent west to somehow make sense of the messes in Tennessee and Mississippi in late 1862 and early 1863 (failed... but I can't think of who could have succeeded)
4) Appointed to command the AoT after the disaster at Chattanooga in late 1863 (succeeded in rebuilding the morale of the army and preparing it for 1864)
5) Stop Sherman's much larger forces in northern Georgia in 1864 (failed... but, again, I don't know who might have succeeded)
6) Appointed, again, to rebuild the CSA forces in "the west" and to stop Sherman in the Carolinas (hopeless assignment)

Had Lee been sent to do all six of the above tasks... what would the result have been? Would be fascinating if it were answerable.

Subpoint: Could Lee have beaten Sherman in northern Georgia? I don't know. But not with Polk, Hardee, Stewart, and/or Hood as his CCs. I think Lee would have kept Hood and maybe Stewart but Polk and Hardee would have been gone.

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Gen. Blake Strickler
Confederate General-in-Chief
El Presidente 2010 - 2012