The Union and the Confederacy may not have been fighting for equally valiant
causes during the American Civil War, but they both had formidable military minds on
their sides. These are the Civil War generals generally regarded as the best by historians.
Confederate General James Ewell Brown Stuart began working for Robert E. Lee before the
Civil War even began, as the two repelled John Brown's abolitionist revolt at Harpers
Ferry. When the war broke out, Stuart resigned from the U.S. army and joined the Confederacy,
where he was placed in charge of cavalry units in the Shenandoah.
He and Stonewall Jackson would later help defeat the Union at Bull Run.
Stuart and Jackson were folded into the larger Army of Northern Virginia. Stuart
made daring raids and proved to be excellent at reconnaissance, giving Lee the information he
needed to develop winning strategies at battles like Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
However, Stuart's reputation would eventually be tarnished during the
Battle of Gettysburg. Rather than following orders to protect the army from enemy cavalry,
he opted to go on a long, flashy raid of Union supply lines and communications.
He was killed a year later by Union cavalry at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in May 1864.
Union General George Gordon Meade began the war by leading Federal troops at the Seven Days Battles,
Antietam, and Fredericksburg. But he's most famous for Gettysburg. Robert E. Lee's
victory at Chancellorsville and subsequent second invasion of the North led to a crisis of command
in the Union Army of the Potomac, with General Joseph Hooker resigning in disgrace on June 28,
1863. With no time to waste, the Abraham Lincoln administration ordered Meade to take over.
If the Confederates had won what was about to become the war's bloodiest battle,
then the road to Washington would have been wide open. Fortunately for the Union, though,
Meade was up to the task. He wrapped his army in the shape of a fishhook around the
hills south of Gettysburg. And then thanks to their superior numbers, tight interior lines,
and high ground, the Union beat back every one of Lee's attempts to break through.
Meade has been criticized for failing to fully defeat Lee after the battle,
but the Union troops were exhausted and likely couldn't have finished the job.
"Well, gentlemen, I hope to God that this is good ground."
Despite his nickname, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's greatest talents were offensive,
not defensive. He led a decisive campaign in the Shenandoah, where his rapidly moving
"foot cavalry" thwarted Union armies many times their size. He then joined up with
Robert E. Lee and played a very significant role in the battles to come. Most notably,
at Chancellorsville Lee defied military convention by splitting his smaller force
and sending Jackson's corps to outflank Union troops. Alas, Jackson was wounded by friendly
fire that same day. When he died days later on May 10, 1863, his legend was already well-established.
It's possible, though, that Jackson's death was the best thing that happened to his reputation,
as his performances on the battlefield were actually hit or miss. At the Seven Days Battles,
for example, his division arrived behind schedule, which jeopardized
Lee's plans. And at Fredericksburg, Jackson's line nearly broke. Still,
his brilliance in the Shenandoah and at Chancellorsville were self-evident.
As evidenced by his nickname "Little Phil," Philip Sheridan wasn't exactly imposing. But he
would nevertheless prove invaluable to the Union effort. During the 1862 Battle of Booneville,
Mississippi, he was impressive enough to be promoted from colonel to brigadier general.
The following year, his dashing charge at Missionary Ridge proved crucial to lifting
the Confederate siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. When Ulysses S. Grant was
appointed command of all Union armies in 1864, he took Sheridan with him.
Sheridan is also notable for finally defeating J.E.B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern,
though his most famous campaign was in the Shenandoah Valley. He torched the area,
which was a crucial maneuver, as that was one of the South's most vital agricultural regions.
After Union troops broke through rebel lines at Petersburg, Sheridan played a major role
in trapping Lee at Appomattox, forcing him to surrender and effectively ending the war.
Dubbed by Robert E. Lee as "Old War Horse," James Longstreet was one of the Confederacy's
most reliable generals. He swept the Union troops from the field at the second Battle of Bull Run.
And then at Antietam and Fredericksburg, his dogged defense carried the day.
At Gettysburg, though, Longstreet was taken out of his comfort zone and ordered to carry out attacks
he didn't believe could succeed. He was right, as his forces failed to break through on July 2,
1863. The next day, he was put in charge of a massive infantry assault against Cemetery
Ridge. Dubbed "Pickett's Charge," it was an infamous failure, just as Longstreet predicted.
"I told you so!"
Later that year, Longstreet helped Braxton Bragg win the Battle of Chickamauga. His corps returned
to Lee in 1864 just in time to stop a breakthrough by Union troops at the Wilderness. He was wounded,
though he recovered in time to play a role in the defense of Petersburg in the final months
of the war, before surrendering with Lee at Appomattox in 1865.
Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
during the Seven Days' Battles. He threw back this attack on Richmond before turning north,
emerging victorious at the Second Battle of Manassas and battling the Union to a stalemate at
Antietam despite his plans being captured. Then, he won the Battle of Fredericksburg and repelled
a massive Union Army at Chancellorsville. But that was also his last great victory.
Lee lost the war's bloodiest, most famous battle at Gettysburg in July 1863,
before going up against Ulysses S. Grant in the Overland campaign and the Siege of Petersburg.
Grant's troops sunk their teeth into the rebels and didn't let go until Lee surrendered in 1865.
There are, however, some less kind historical explanations
about Lee's military prowess. Despite his reputation as a brilliant general,
he was more of a solid tactician who could win individual battles. But he unwisely
fought a traditional war against a more powerful opponent when a more defensive mindset would've
worked better. And it also helped that he had mediocre adversaries before Grant took over.
William Tecumseh Sherman is a controversial historical figure. On the negative side,
he was a major proponent of Manifest Destiny, the belief that white Americans were destined
to conquer the West. And he cruelly campaigned against Native Americans in the late 19th century.
As for his Civil War service, Sherman suffered from depression in the early years of the war,
but that didn't stop him from winning some of the Union's most crucial victories. In 1864,
Ulysses S. Grant left Sherman in charge out west. That September,
he captured Atlanta after a campaign in which Union forces repeatedly
inflicted higher casualties than they sustained on an already-outnumbered foe.
Sherman then began his March to the Sea by boldly disconnecting from his supply
line and having his forces live off the land of rural Georgia as they carved their way to
Savannah. The March is generally seen as a cruel, bloodthirsty crusade against innocent
civilians. The American Battlefield Trust has a different take, saying that it was an
innovative and relatively bloodless campaign that did exactly what it set out to do:
free slaves, break the back of the Confederacy, and save lives by hastening the end of the war.
"We're marching from Atlanta straight to the sea."
Union General George Henry Thomas gave the North one of its first major victories at
Mill Springs in January 1862. But he first came to national attention for his defense
at Chickamauga in September 1863. The Confederates won, but at a great cost,
as they lost ten generals and 20 percent of their attacking force. It could've been much worse for
the Union army as well, if not for Thomas. His corps dug in and withstood multiple attacks,
buying time for the rest of the army to escape to Chattanooga.
The following year, Confederate General John Bell Hood threatened Union communications and
supply lines. William Sherman called upon Thomas to deal with the threat,
and he certainly did. Hood's rebels suffered massive losses at the Battle of Franklin on
November 30, 1864, and were utterly wiped out after Thomas' victory at Nashville. That
ended large-scale fighting in the region for good and earned him the thanks of Congress.
Future president Ulysses S. Grant started his Civil War career out west. He captured Forts
Henry and Donelson, earning him the nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant." He then won
the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 and split the Confederacy in two while fighting for Vicksburg.
During the latter, he used a diversion to sneak his forces across the Mississippi, surprised the
rebels by slashing their supply lines, and then attacked the city from the lightly defended rear.
Months later, Grant lifted the siege of Chattanooga, which opened the road to
Sherman's capture of Atlanta. President Abraham Lincoln was impressed and placed
him in command of all Union armies. Grant chose to camp with the Army of the Potomac
in Virginia to oversee its campaign against Robert E. Lee while his subordinates launched
simultaneous assaults elsewhere to overwhelm the Confederates. Despite high casualties,
this "Overland Campaign" did its job, as it wore down the rebel's proudest army and then broke it
at the Siege of Petersburg. Grant accepted Lee's surrender at Appomattox in the spring of 1865.
It's worth noting that Grant's Union army enjoyed numerical superiority, but that was an advantage
also enjoyed by his failed predecessors. He won because he was a brilliant strategist
and tactician, capable of winning battles without taking his eye off the prize of ultimate victory.
"We possess strengths they do not have. Our purpose."
Before the Civil War, Albert Sidney Johnston had already established himself as one of America's
ablest commanders. He was the natural choice to command the Confederacy's Western Department,
an area centered around the Tennessee and Mississippi River valleys.
Johnston faced Ulysses Grant's army at the Battle of Shiloh, which was one of the bloodiest and
costliest battles in the war up to that point. Johnston massed his army of around 44,000 men
at Corinth, Mississippi, and marched north to attack Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing,
Tennessee before federal reinforcements could arrive. Johnston's daring plan called for his
much smaller army to catch Union forces by surprise and drive them into the river.
This attack worked, overrunning Union advance lines and inaugurating the bloody Battle of
Shiloh. Despite Johnston's success, he hadn't expected Grant's men to fight to the death.
Nevertheless, he believed the battle was winnable, inspiring his forces by putting himself at the
head of the attack. As he was leading a charge of reluctant Tennessee soldiers, his bold plan came
crashing down when he was shot in the leg and bled to death. That left P.G.T. Beauregard in charge
of the army. Believing he'd won, Beauregard halted the Confederate attack for the night,
allowing Grant's reinforcements to arrive and handing the battle to the Union. With over
10,000 casualties, the Confederate attack that had started so promisingly ultimately came to nothing.
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was appointed commander of the Army of Tennessee
in November 1863, a time when the Confederate cause was lost. The soldiers adored their new
general. Corporal Sam Watkins wrote in his memoir that Johnston revamped logistics,
resupplied the army, and restored order and discipline. Soldiers
were expected to fight hard and obey. Those who didn't were shot.
Johnston's task from Confederate President Jefferson Davis was to defend Atlanta's
critical war industries against William Sherman's advancing army. Outnumbered,
Johnston opted for a defensive strategy over 100 days of battles,
fighting from strongly fortified positions and allowing Sherman to come to him. Whenever
Sherman flanked the Confederate line, Johnston withdrew and began the process all over again.
Johnston's defensive strategy was meant to overextend Sherman's supply lines and slow
him down, not defeat him outright. In fact, he lacked the resources to defeat the much larger
Union force and wisely realized that a pitched battle would have meant suicide. Davis, however,
wanted Johnston to attack Sherman before he could reach Atlanta. Johnston refused,
so Davis replaced him with John Bell Hood,
who led the Confederates to disaster at the Battle of Franklin in November 1864.