Braxton Bragg: Personality Analysis

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Early Life Braxton Bragg was born on March 22, 1817 in Warrenton, NC. His father was a contractor, and his mother spent time in jail for killing a freed slave (Braxton Bragg, 2014). As a young man Bragg yearned to be accepted by the higher elements of antebellum society. However, constant rejection led him to develop an abrasive personality that became one of his trademarks (Hickman, 2014). I imagine this had to do with being judged by the actions of his mother. In 1833, when Bragg was just 16, his politician brother helped him earn an appointment at the United States Military Academy at West Point (Braxton Bragg, 2014). He was a gifted student, graduating in 1837 at the top of his class- ranked fifth in a class of fifty. Upon graduation …show more content…

According to James McPherson in Ordeal by Fire, Johnston was at this point in no mind to wait on General Grant to attack him (2009 p.247). After being joined by General Beauregard, who was sent from Virginia by Davis, Johnston marched his troops from Corinth to a site near federal lines and was ready to launch an attack. Bragg led a corps of troops during the attacks, and was later rewarded with a promotion to General. During the fighting, Johnston was killed and command was devolved to General Beauregard. However, after a defeat of the Rebel troops, a promotion and command was given to Bragg. McPherson explained that “Shiloh was the ghastliest bloodbath in the history of the Western Hemisphere thus far, though later Civil War battles would put it in seventh place in this respect” (2009, p.250). More than 1,700 men were killed and 8,000 wounded on each …show more content…

According to McPherson “the fighting was some of the most vicious but confused of the war. Much of the battlefield was covered with heavy woods and dense undergrowth” (2009). The Confederate advance at the Union Army would take place by storming two bridges, the Alexander and Reed simultaneously. It was quickly determined that the Union’s Lighting Brigade, commanded by Colonel John C. Wilder, would hold strong against any advancement on the Alexander Bridge. Walker’s Reserve Corps would use Lambert’s Ford to cross the West Chickamauga Creek. Bragg’s men under General Bushrod Johnson were more successful at Reed’s

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