Braxton Bragg

 

A review of Braxton Bragg: The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy by Earl J. Hess, University of North Carolina Press, 2016.

In Braxton Bragg: The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy, prolific Civil War historian Earl J. Hess attempts the near impossible task of resurrecting the reputation of one of the Civil War’s most disparaged generals. Many contemporaries and historians alike have long considered Braxton Bragg to be one of the most incompetent and ineffective generals of the Civil War. Much of the criticism directed towards Bragg tends to focus on his battlefield failures and his reputation as a fierce disciplinarian who would execute soldiers under his command for minor offenses.

Hess challenges the popular opinion of Bragg and seeks to defend many of his actions in order to present a balance view and a “sense of historical justice.” (xx). Hess’ biography focuses primarily on Bragg’s Civil War career and places little emphasis on the general’s prewar life. The author’s intention was not to write a general biography, but to examine his Civil War career. In doing so, Hess examines the general’s actions from his first command at Pensacola in 1861 through the fall of the Confederacy and places major emphasis on the general’s relationship with his subordinates because it had a dramatic impact on his performance during the war.

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