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→Assessment
==Assessment==
==Assessment==
Bragg was known to his contemporaries as a strict disciplinarian, but also as an irritable person, with Grant recalling a pre-Civil War anecdote where Bragg, after quarreling "with every officer in the army", even managed to get into a quarrel with himself. Worse, Bragg was quite outspoken about his negative opinion of others, making him unpopular with his subordinates and contributing to a breakdown of personal relations. His record as a general was decidedly mixed; he routinely failed to exploit the victories he won, tended to retreat after a draw, and at Chattanooga he suffered a major defeat. On the other hand, his strategic plans mostly were adequate or even inspired, but the execution was often handicapped by Bragg's subordinates, and unlike [[Robert E. Lee]], Bragg would not be allowed a free hand at choosing them.
Bragg was known to his contemporaries as a strict disciplinarian, but also as an irritable person, with Grant recalling a pre-Civil War anecdote where Bragg, after quarreling "with every officer in the army", even managed to get into a quarrel with himself. Worse, Bragg was quite outspoken about his negative opinion of others, making him unpopular with his subordinates and contributing to a breakdown of personal relations. His record as a general was decidedly mixed; he routinely failed to exploit the victories he won, tended to retreat after a draw, and at Chattanooga he suffered a major defeat. On the other hand, his strategic plans mostly were adequate or even inspired, but the execution was often handicapped by Bragg's subordinates, and unlike [[Robert E. Lee]], Bragg would not be allowed a free hand at choosing them.
President [[Jefferson Davis]] retained such generals as Bragg and [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] long after they demonstrated incompetence in leading the Army of Tennessee, an error in judgment costly to the Confederacy.
==Further reading==
* McWhiney, Grady. ''Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat'' (2 vol 1991) 440 pp., 298pp. Standard scholarly history; by a conservative historian
==References==
==References==
*Woodworth, Steven E., ''Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns'', University of Nebraska Press, 1998. Takes a rather positive view of Bragg's performance.
*Woodworth, Steven E., ''Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns'', University of Nebraska Press, 1998. Takes a rather positive view of Bragg's performance.
[[Category:American Civil War Commanders]]
[[Category:American Civil War Commanders]]