Cleburne the Movie

Im not going to say much here about it, I think that Kevin Levin has done a more thoughtful post on this over at Civil War Memory, http://cwmemory.com/2010/02/05/patrick-cleburne-and-black-confederates-take-hollywood/, concerning the central theme of this movie adaption of Cleburne: A Graphic Novel, which is Cleburne's proposal to arm slaves in 1864. The few comments I would like to make concern the "other" aspects of the novel that I find troubling. First of all there are some errors that are very glaring, boulders being rolled down Missinary Ridge, It is made to look like Bragg passed command of the army directly to Joe Johnston, Hardee is completely left out, then there is the one that really gets me, the continued character assissination of Braxton Bragg, bet you would never thought you would hear that phrase, Bragg is portrayed as the ultimate villian in this, starting out by wanting to take the distinctive Hardee Corps battleflags from Cleburne as punishment, when it was Joe Johnston that did that in an attempt to have uniformity within his army. Bragg actually gave Cleburne his own saddle when he left the army and praised him in his final report for his actions at Missionary Ridge and Ringgold Gap. But to make Johnston out to be the saint and Bragg the devil it distorts the truth. Bragg is a complex figure with many warts, but no one is all good or all bad. But with that said, even if you still cant stand Bragg, you need to have the history correct. I will leave you with this paragraph from the Flags of the Confederacy website concerning the Hardee Corps flags of 1864,

"In early March of 1864, shortly after Hardee's Corps of the Army of Tennessee had returned to Dalton from its sojourn to reinforce General Polk's Army of Mississippi, General Cleburne petitioned that the four brigades of his division be permitted to retain the distinctive blue battle flags that had been employed by Hardee's Corps throughout 1863. Although General Joseph E. Johston had been attempting to enforce a uniform battle flag upon the Army of Tennessee since his arrival on 27 December 1863, he relented in the case of Cleburne's Division and allowed that command to be recognized by the blue flags with white central discs and white borders that had been their distinctive flags since Bowling Green in the winter of 1861-1862."

Captain Goldman Bryson and the First Tennessee National Guard

As Lee White and I were sitting at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center Information Desk on Saturday, January 23, I was approached by an individual wishing to relate a story to me about how one of his ancestors caught a minié ball in the shoulder during the battle and wanted more information on the unit his ancestor fought with during Chickamauga. Well, like so many visitors, he only had a name, a name Lee and I could not specifically pinpoint for the gentleman. I believe the surname was Brannon, but that is beside the point in this case.

According to Lieutenant C.H. Taylor, a skirmish took place deep in the hills of Cherokee County, North Carolina, on November 1, 1863. Taylor was the commanding officer of a group of nineteen men who were ordered by Confederate General John C. Vaughn to pursue Captain Goldman Bryson's company of "mounted robbers." Supposedly, Taylor's band tracked the "robbers" for two days, without stopping to eat. They finally came upon Bryson and his men, which scattered. Taylor ordered Bryson to stop, and when he refused, Taylor shot him. The wound did not deter Bryson from trying to get away from the Confederates, and he was shot several more times. Taylor's men did find orders from General Ambrose Burnside on Bryson's body and turned them over to his superiors. For further information concerning this skirmish, correspondence can be found in

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Goodbye Mr. Bragg

Just to note that today was the 145th anniversary of Braxton Bragg's resignation from command of the Army of Tennessee.

A Step Forward And A Step Back

I have recently been reading Martin Dugard's The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War, 1846-1848. Of course I eagerly went to see how many familar faces I could come across, including Captain Bragg. Well, we get a little bit of good, and the same old bad. In regard to Bragg, Dugard says, "The North Carolinian was a tyrant, despised by his troops for his fanaticicism about discipline and protocol. He had finished fifth in the West Point class of 1837, which had graduated more than a dozen future generals-a startling figure, given that it comprised just fifty men. Bragg was lean like a knife's blade, tall, with iron gray eyes, great bushy eyebrows, and a sharp, unshaven chin whose point was accentuated by whiskers extending down both sides of his face to the jawbone. He was prone to depression, hypochondria, boils, and chronic diarrhea. Strangely, despite all this, women found him to be extremely charming. Bragg could display a sly sense of homor to those he pursued. Among his men, however, such attributes might be spoken of but were never witnessed...Bragg's character was potentially assailable, but his ability and intellect were not. Actually, he was something of a military genius. Bragg's specialty was artillery...Bragg was adept at mobilizing and firing all of these weapons. Yet his favorite was the six pounder...,the smallest cannon in the modern American military arsenal."
Sadly it seems the author relied to heavily on Civil War writings about Bragg, without checking them. Although Bragg's health was never great, the list of maladies he lists come from the 1860s, not the 1840s. Also, the opinion of Bragg as a tyrant comes more from post Civil War writings. Bragg was more a problem with superiors than his men, of course there is the story of the "fragging", but no one ever checks the story out, to see that the soldier that tried that had tried to desert and had been punished by Bragg, if he had been such a tyrant, the soldier would have been executed. However, it is at least refreshing to see Bragg being given some credit for his ability, particularly in artillery. So you have to take the good with the bad.

Some more for Mr. Bragg

Came across this on the 7th Mississippi Infantry website, http://www.geocities.com/poboy1961/ , a thank you to Jamie Roberts for making this known to me. The following is from the diary of William J. Bass of the 7th.

This is from the diary entry for June 15th, 1864.

"The Army visited by General Bragg [as] he passed through our camp to General Walthall's Brigade, a great many followed after him [and] seemed to be anxious to see the face of their old commander. After reaching General Walthall's Brigade, loud cheers were heard for a speech from General Bragg who told them that he was no hand to speak, that the best speech he had ever heard was made by them in front of the enemy with their muskets and it would afford him much pleasure to be with us again on such an occasion. He said that he had been far from us, but he could assure us that we had not been forgotten by him."

Happy Birthday, Army of Tennessee!

Though we're not quite to our anniversary here at the blog, our namesake and (usually) subject is turning 146 today. Disappointed from the lack of success in Kentucky (though loaded down with the produce of the Bluegrass), Braxton Bragg reorganized his forces on November 20, 1862. In the process, he designated the army, the Army of Tennessee.

So, here's to the army's founder, its longtime commander, and our favorite figure here at AoT: "Bully for Bragg!"

Braxton Bragg

Fellow AoT Blogger Chris Young passed this along to me yesterday, and thought I would share yet again another pro Bragg man. This time from a Louisianan, James Cooper of the 1st Louisiana Regulars. Cooper would write from Dalton on December 5th, 1863, "Genl Bragg took leave of us on the 2nd of this month a sad parting to us who have served with him during the whole war. We were attached to him personally, and regret his leaving because notwithstanding the abuse heaped upon him by the press of the country, we are satisfied that his course, though dictated by the patriotism that has characterized his whole career, will prove a serious blow to the country and our cause. We know the difficulties and embarrassments with which the bold hero has had to contend and the self sacrficing devotion with which he has struggled to overcome them; and yet, never turning aside to vindicate his course before a prejudiced people or to repel and expose the slanders of his enemies. Throughout the army I believe his loss severely felt and sincerely regretted."
So, add another one to the listing. The notion of the hatred of Bragg being so widespread is beginning to smell of conspiracy.

I've Been Workin' on the Railroad Boys

As some of you all are aware, the 1st Tennessee (of Sam Watkins fame) is one of my research interests. Yesterday I was running the CSRs of some of the more popular characters from Co. Aytch that weren't actually in the Maury Grays. We all remember Tom Tuck and his game cock Fed, Confed, or Confederacy but I found more of interest to old Tom too. Tuck was a member of the original Co. F, the "Railroad Boys" from Nashville, a company that (not surprisingly) had large numbers of Irishmen serving with it. In Tuck's CSR there is a note to see some correspondence in H.J. Sutton's file of the 24th Tenn. Spurred on by this lead, I found a jewel.

Lt. Gen. Polk
Comd'g Corps

Hd Qrs Army of Tenn
Tullahoma March 23d 1863

General
The General Commanding desires to know whether the hereafter named men are accustomed to Rail Road work and if they were in the employ of the Nashville and Chattanooga Rail Road and its branches previous to enlistment.

H.J. Sutton Capt. Burnett's Co 24th Tenn

M. Ross Co. F 1st "
John McAffee " " 1st "
W.H. Cumming " " 1st "
Isaac Shewin " " 1st "
Morgan Dickison " " 1st "
James Wade " " 1st "
Joseph Taylor " " 1st "
Thos Tuck " " 1st "
W.H. Myres " " 1st "
L. Taylor " " 1st "
A.J. Hull " " 1st "
Moses Vannoy " A 1st "
Patrick Blunkall Capt Falcher's Co 1st "
F. Quinn Capt Daniel's " 26th Ala
J.H. Forrst Co E 5th Geo
G.W. Angel Co K 24th Tenn
Thos Welch Co I 10th Texas

I am General
Very Respectfully
your obt servt
George Wm Brent
A A Gen

The Railroad Boys were railroad boys indeed. Now, I had always presumed that Co. F men were the unskilled railroad labor that was essentially expendable when the war came along, and could afford to enlist but I may have been proved wrong. These men were detailed for work on the Nashville & Chattanooga throughout the summer of '63 and it would follow that Bragg would not detail raw, unskilled labor but instead tap men with specific knowledge and specific skills. Unfortunately, because of the transient nature of railroad work, Tuck doesn't show up in the 1860 census in Nashville. I wonder what we'd find if he did. Incidentally, Tuck was captured while on his railroad detail, eventually exchanged, and served out the war with the 1st, being one of the handful to surrender in North Carolina.

Also of note, the fighting cock Confed does not have his own CSR file. Though a game personality and a favorite among the troops of the 1st, he (like other living property taken into the army by Confederates) was not a soldier. Neither was Weary Clyburne. Also, thanks to Kevin for posting this Pete Carmichael paper.

Back to Bragg

One of the first things that I recommend to learn about Braxton Bragg is the transcript of a talk that the late Dr. McWhiney made to the Civil War Round Table in Chicago, http://users.aol.com/CintiCWRT/bragg.html. The article is short, but covers some of the basic misunderstandings about General Bragg.

More Support for Gen. Bragg...This time in print!

Two rival newspapers located in Mobile, Alabama, had very differing views of our most "harmonious" commander. The pro-Bragg newspaper was the Mobile Daily Register and Advertiser and the anti-Bragg newspaper was the Mobile News. I give you all one of the rebuttal articles printed by the Register and Advertiser on Friday morning, January 16, 1863. Keep in mind that this is in reference to the recent defeats of the Army of Tennessee in Kentucky and at the Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee.

Down on GEN. BRAGG- The Mobile News is very heavy on Gen. Bragg as a military leader generally, and particularly hard on him as it regards the General's Kentucky campaign and the battle of Murfreesboro. We give a specimen.

Jackson Mississippian.

The "specimen" extract copied by our Mississippi contemporary never appeared in the Evening News.

It is right hard on Bragg that he is not allowed to have defenders even in his friends. This journal, which has resisted the torrent of injustice and false popular clamor against a true soldier and patriot, is now taken away from him and made to be "very heavy on Gen. Bragg." The Mississippian will please correct, and do us justice. The opinion of this journal is that General Bragg has got more patriotism and military genius in his little finger than is contained in all the bodies and souls of nine tenths of the army of his [illegible].

As many of us know, Braxton Bragg had a lot of support in Mobile!!! Reading this extract should not surprise us, but I do believe it goes to show us that modern military historians do not give Bragg supporters credit where credit is due. How many individuals subscribed to this particular newspaper? I do not have the statistics, but I bet quite a few Mobilians read or listened to this paper being read, and not all of the influential persuasion, like Major General Jones M. Withers of Mobile (a definite Bragg Supporter).

A Little More Support for Captain Bragg

Luthor Wyman, Semple's ALA Battery: "Gen. Hardee is at present in command of the army, he is not liked at all by the men. Reports are that Gen. Johnston will take command in a few days with Gen. Bragg as his adjutant general. He will do. A large portion of the army was very sorry to part with Bragg..."

Joseph Miller Rand, 41st Mississippi:"Gen. Bragg visited us and dont think I ever saw anyone so welcomely received. The men almost lost their senses they seemed so frantic with joy at meeting their old leader. Gen. B. made a short speech. He I think was looking better than I ever saw him" This was in July of 1864!

Liet. James Fraser, Co. H, 50th Alabama Infantry would write to Bragg on Dec 2nd, 1863: “Our whole camp is full of sorrow and sadness, for we had learned to love you as a child loves his father, and the thought of being separated from you, and losing perhaps forever your paternal-like care sends pangs most bitter through our insides. Many of us have followed you with gladness from Mobile up to the present, and the longer we remained with you the more we loved you, and the more confidence we had in your skill and ability as a military chieftain, and we always felt sure that while General Bragg commanded no evil could ever befall us. Your old army was never dissatisfied with you…and we love you today better, and can yield a more willing service to your command than we can to any untried leader. But for fear I weary you with the length of my letter, I bid you goodbye for the regiment. We all love you alike. Should you retire from the army entirely, which God forbid, we hope you many find a peace and joy and rest which you so much need, and praying that you may live to see us a free, happy, and independent nation, and that when at last your career on earth shall have ended, you may be received into that heavenly abode, where no vile slanderers are allowed to enter.”

Captain John Ellis, 19th LA would write in October of 1863: “Bragg is truly a great man. He metes out justice to the high as well as to the low." Then a few weeks later, “It was an unbending justice Bragg meted out to his generals, his colonels, his captains, and privates alike that brings the ire of officers high in the rank down upon General Bragg. His men love Bragg…His army has been held together, and has been so disciplined and organized by him as to nearly compensate in efficiency what it sadly lacked in numbers. All this is attributable to General Bragg. The papers say he is incompetent. His career and history gives this the lie. They say the army has no confidence in him, but, as I know the men in this army and my acquaintance extends to many brigades including men from every state, I am prepared to pronounce this, like the former, a lie. No army ever had more confidence in its leaders, and Napoleon's guard never followed his eagles more enthusiastically than this ragged army has and will follow the lead of its gaunt, grim chieftain."

QM Sgt. Edward Brown, 45th Ala. Would write on Dec 2nd, 1863:
“I am and always have been a Bragg man and I am sorry to have him leave the army…I guess Longstreet will take command of this army and he may please the people and the army for a while, but I doubt his ability to wield an army like Bragg.”

Gen. William Bate: Bragg Supporter.

One of the more vocal Pro Bragg men in the Army of Tennessee was General William Bate. After Bragg's resignation from the Army after the debacle at Missionary Ridge, Bate would travel with Bragg as he departed the Army. Earlier in 1863, after the infamous questionnaire and Joe Johnston had been sent to check on the Army and assume command if necessary, Bate would write to Confederate Senator Landon C. Haynes on March 24th, 1863;
"It is thoroughly understood in the Army of Tennessee in the last few days that General Bragg has been relieved from the command of the Army of Tennessee. Can it be possible that is or will be so? The moment it is done our army here will gradually begin to degenerate into an armed mob, and six months will not pass until it is virtually disintegrated.
Except for an official interview, I do not personally know General Bragg, and cannot be influenced by any other than patriotic motives. While on my crutches I have, as you are aware, bee in rear of his army in command of the District of North Alabama and at Chattanooga, which afforded me a fine opportunity to witness the effect of his force of character and discipline. Recently I have been in the field under him, and my convictions as to the necessity of his presence in this army has strengthened daily.
General Bragg exacts military duty from officers as well as men, and hence many of the former, as well as the latter, have become his critiques ppar excellence. I understand from high sources that his standing with his officers and men has been made a cause of complaint to the Government. My opinion is that the very men who make the complaints will rue it in three months from to-day should he be removed. The truth is, Senator, the captious wishes of officers who are ambitious should not be yielded to merely for their gratification. It is a dangerous precident in an army to gratify the malcontents.
I am for proper discipline and drill, and there is no man in our entire army who is the equal of General Bragg in organizing, disciplining, and keeping together a large command. General Joseph E. Johnston is his superior in many respects I do not doubt, but together we have a happy combination. Keep it so. Those of us who wish the sucess of our cause above all personal considerations have a right to speak to those who are upon the watch tower of our liberties and give them the benefit of our personal and official observation, and hence I write you, as one of our guardians who I hope has to the proper extent the ear of the President, and will not hesitate to make known to him the honest and patriotic opinion of one of his officers who feels that the necessity for retaining General Bragg in his present command is urgent. Suppose this army has to fall back south of the Tennessee and General Bragg is disconnected with it-the terror and awe of his name to deserters lost-what will become of it? It will becone a skeleton from desertion-the shadow of its now substantial parts..."

All Those Bragg Haters

You have seen it referenced many times, the mutinous petition that was signed after Chickamauga, and from many historians you would believe that the list would have been incredibly long. Here are the names that were on the petition,

James Longstreet
S.B. Buckner
B.R. Johnson
Wm. Preston
A. Gracie
D.H. Hill
Jno. C. Brown
M.A. Stovall
R. Lee Gibson
L.E. Polk
J.A. Smith
P.R. Cleburne

Several things that are interesting to note are who isn't on the list, Bragg detractors such as John Breckinridge and Frank Cheatham stand out. Also, notice who did sign the petition, James Longstreet, Wm. Preston, S.B. Buckner, A. Gracie, and even D.H. Hill are relatively new faces in the Army. Also note that under Cleburne, Smith, Lucius Polk, and Bushrod Johnson had been in the same Division. Johnson having been detached earlier in the summer to Stewart's fledgling Division where John C. Brown was also a brigade commander. Stovall and Gibson were Brigadiers in Breckinridge's division with Gibson having a negative prewar history with Bragg. So even within the list there are a number of connections among these men that voiced their opposition to Bragg.
Finally of note, Generals Gracie, Smith, Johnson, Stovall, and Gibson all had personal problems with Bragg, Johnson and Gibson had prewar history with him, Gracie had been a subject of concern with desertion problems and the rumor of a unionist cell in his brigade, Smith had been on Leonidas Polk's staff and then the Colonel of the 5th Confederate Infantry, and had a problem with Bragg over his rank. So it would seem that for a good portion of the most vocal Anti-Bragg men that they had more of a personel aggenda than merely the wellfare of the army. To be fair, Buckner and Cleburne were both held in high regard by Bragg after Chickamauga who had recommened both of them for promotion. There support of the petition was a shock to Bragg. So when you look at all of these factors a clearer picture of the opposition to Bragg can be seen.

Behind Every Good Man, or General, There is a Woman...

I felt that I would digress somewhat from Lee's post and move into the social realm myself. As I was searching for more information pertaining to our illustrious General Bragg, I could not help but remember the number of times I have read excerpts from documents concerning the enormous influence his wife played in military affairs dealing with the Army of Tennessee. First, let's get to know the woman behind the general.

Eliza (Elise) Brooks Ellis was the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana planter. According to G.S. Borit's Jefferson Davis's Generals, she was "intelligent, opinionated, engaging, and rich," all qualities that attracted Braxton to his future wife. They were married in 1849, but soon confided to on of her cousins that she had "censured Col. Bragg for being too cold and reserved a lover." She went on to write, "I little knew the depth and affection that was concealed under such and exterior-he is an ardent and devoted husband and fonder of displaying his affection in a thousand little tendernesses than even myself." She was his confidant and companion through his illnesses, military failures, and everything else the colonel (general) underwent. On one occasion, Bragg even wrote, "I am lost without you my dear wife."

I believe many of us can testify that many of Bragg's soldiers did not think him the tyrant modern historians make him out to be during the war. Elise could frequently be found around the Army of Tennessee's headquarters when Bragg was commanding. She was there for her husband when he resigned after the debacle at Missionary Ridge and accompanied him to Richmond upon his transfer as Davis' military advisor.

How much influence did Elise Bragg have on her husband? This is the question I pose to you all. According to Judith Hallock, editor of The Civil War Letters of Joshua K. Callaway, she probably played a vital role in his decision to march out of Chattanooga toward Kentucky in June 1862. She reminded him of the technological advances in transportation (i.e. railroads and steam navigation) that could be used militarily to his advantage. She wrote, "Why not take our army round into Tennessee & thence into Kentucky?" Although Bragg chose to leave Federal forces in the rear of his army, particularly in and around Corinth, Mississippi, she reminded him that "you leave our enemy in your rear-true, but is not that better than an enemy in your midst, starvation."

Like I said, behind every great man is a woman. It is my opinion that we, as historians, need to take a closer look into Bragg's personal life and the person whose opinion "really" mattered, Elise Bragg.

Braxton Bragg

I thought it would be fitting that the first post on this blog should be about the man that led the Army of Tennessee for the longest and most successful part of its career. Sam Watkins wrote "We had followed General Bragg all through this long war. We had got sorter used to his ways, but he was never popular with his troops." However, WJ Worsham would write in his The Old Nineteenth Tennessee Regiment, CSA; "December the 2nd, 1863, Gen. Bragg issued his last order to the men he had commanded for the last eighteen months, and whom he had led in several hard fought battles. He was endeared to the men, by sharing with them the hardships and toils of army life, the long marches by day and by night, through rain and sunshine, heat and cold...With these associations crowding his memory it was a feeling of deep sadness he said fairwell. In departing he left with the army his blessings and the prayers of a grateful friend. The army was loath to give him up..."
Watkins and Worsham were both in Cheatham's Division, and they both wrote their comments in post war memoirs, so whom to believe? I would say that neither are, Bragg's popularity, like his leadership, was a mixed bag. Some soldiers and some officers did like, respect, and support him, and others did not. To address the high command, Bragg held support among a large portion of the army's brigade and division commanders, including Joe Wheeler, Edward Walthall, John K. Jackson, Patton Anderson, Arthur Manigault, Zach Deas, WHT Walker, States Rights Gist, Daniel Adams, Henry Clayton, William Bate, JJ Finley, George Maney, Otho Strahl, and Marcus Wright. So where did the notion of the he was hated by everyone come from? Mostly from post war writings of the anti Bragg faction of the army, who seemed to not be shy with their attacks, and the wartime press. It is interesting that so many historians have ignored the accounts of the Pro Bragg officers and men. I am currently researching the Pro Bragg forces of the army, and will periodically post more of what I find as my research continues. I will conclude with one more quote, this one from Captain C. Irvine Walker of Gen. Arthur Manigault's staff written on July 9th, 1864, "For our sakes I am glad that the country has so much confidence in our commanding General, people will not blame us for not fighting, but I can't help thinking that Genl. Bragg would have conducted the campaign very differently and perhaps with other results,, and I believe better results as we now can see."