Insubordination 3

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After the loss of Atlanta, Hood attempted to disrupt Sherman's communications (military talk for his supply line) and lure him back to Tennessee. Unfortunately for Hood, things went badly awry.

As his army retreated further south his men changed the words to the popular "Yellow Rose of Texas" to match their feelings about their commander:

So now I'm marching southward,

My heart is full of woe.

I'm going back to Georgia

To see my Uncle Joe.

You may talk about your Beauregard

and sing of General Lee

But the gallant Hood of Texas

Played hell in Tennessee. 1

Insubordination

Insurbordination 2

Insubordination 2

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Bragg was not the only Civil War personality to have remarks address to him that might seem pretty insubordinate to our modern sensibilities. No less than Abraham Lincoln was told while visiting a fort under Confederate fire to, "Get down you Fool!" by a young captain, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1

There's even a historic marker at the site.

Insubordination

Insubordination

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General Braxton Bragg was not well liked by his troops. During an invasion of Kentucky he was in part on a propaganda mission to sway sympathetic Kentuckians to join the Confederate Army. As such he had to have his troops be orderly and not forage for supplies (which Lee's men had been able to do in his two northern raids). When a soldier snuck into a yard and stole three apples, he court martialed that soldier and had him executed.

So it's not surprising that his men had little good to say of him.

Many southern armies were ill supplied with uniforms so at one time Bragg stopped a man to find out if he was in his army. The man, asked if he was part of Bragg's army and not recognizing Bragg, replied, "Bragg's army? Bragg's got no army. He shot half of them himself, up in Kentucky, and the other half got killed at Murfreesboro." (How the North Won, page 354)

Late in his tenure as a field general he became suspicious of reports about a Federal retreat and ask a soldier, "Do you know what a retreat looks like?" The soldier replied, "I ought to know, General, I've been with you during your whole campaign." (How the North Won, page 454)

Hand in the air, delayed long, and naked in the snow

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Imagine for a moment a highly respected general. A man known for his serious demeanor and yet at the same time his quick tactical skill set. A man who was known for his piety.
So as you read about this man would you expect so many quirks and foibles from him as I’ve found.

So let’s begin with that hand which got shot twice during the war. Once in the first battle of Manassas and once in the wilderness which eventually led to his death. There were many opinions on why he held his hand up during battle, but he claimed that it was to establish balance in his body which he felt was out of equilibrium. Eventually he suffered a wound that leads to his death, once again in that hand.

Later during the seven days battle in Virginia he repeatedly delayed entering the battle and follow Lee’s plan to bottle up the union army. This happened not on just one day but several days running. It was thought he might have been in prayer.

Finally when the South had crushed the North at Marye’s Heights he proposed to pursue the North and charge them while they were demoralized and in retreat. Since it was night he proposed to Lee to strip naked so that they could recognize each other in the dark.

I suppose that some folk might think I’ve written this post to somehow redeem the men of my fine state who shot Stonewall Jackson by mistake during that battle in the wilderness.

Once again I find myself puzzled by action of military men that I can’t imagine modern military leaders taking.

Civil War Characters

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One of the things I’ve discovered in reading about the Civil War is how many unique personalities there were involved in the war. Many of these personalities were leaders: politicians, generals, and others. It’s also interesting to note in regards to that how small their world was and how much they knew of each other.

As I’ve read what they’ve said about themselves and others and their actions, I often find myself puzzling over whether similar modern leaders would do such things, would be so candid, would undermine rivals to the point of jeopardizing the war effort. I can’t imagine it, but maybe I just haven’t read enough about war.

Finally, I’ve also noticed that the regular army members were not as respectful of their leaders as we would expect regular army members to be today. I’ve already written about Nelly but there are many other instances where a general doesn’t seem to get the respectful demour I would expect in today’s army.

Nelly

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The Civil War seems to me to be filled with characters and contradictions. It was a time when soldiers were known for their dedication to one leader and sometimes when there was a transition in leadership the ongoing support of those under and above the new leader would be less than what in our modern armed forces. At the same time military punishment could be harsh. General Bragg is reported to have a young solder court martialed and executed for eating a few apples [1]. But the opposite is equally true as well. Soldiers were on occasion unexpectedly informal.

Which brings me to the story of Nelly. Nelly had been courted by and engaged to A.P. Hill, but shortly before their wedding, she broke it off. Some years later she became reacquainted with another West Point graduate George McClellan. She eventually married McClellan. During the conflict between north and south at one of the Battles of Seven Pines, Hill clashed with McClellan. Hill was known to be a tough and energetic fighter. McClellan's men who came in his way were sure that his energy was in part due to his desire for vengeance on McClellan for the loss of Nelly. They are said to have cried out in battle, "God's sake Nelly -- why didn't you marry him?"