Commanders of the Army of Northern Virginia: The Lives and Careers of Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston
ISBN: 9781493576234
$9.99
*Includes pictures of the generals and important people, places, and events.
*Includes maps of the generals' famous battles like Gettysburg, Antietam, and First Bull Run.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
*Includes a Table of Contents.
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had just two commanders during the Civil War, but they could not have more different legacies.
The first commander of the army, and one of the South's most overlooked generals, was Joseph Johnston. And when he is remembered, fairly or not, it's for being overly cautious. During the Civil War, one of the tales that was often told among Confederate soldiers was that Joseph E. Johnston was a crack shot who was a better bird hunter than just about everyone else in the South. However, as the story went, Johnston would never take the shot when asked to, complaining that something was wrong with the situation that prevented him from being able to shoot the bird when it was time.
The story is almost certainly apocryphal, but it was aptly used to demonstrate the Confederates’ frustration with a man who everyone regarded as a capable general. Johnston began the Civil War as one of the South’s senior commanders, leading the ironically named Army of the Potomac to victory in the Battle of First Bull Run over Irvin McDowell’s Union Army. But Johnston would become known more for losing by not winning. Johnston was never badly beaten in battle, but he had a habit of strategically withdrawing until he had nowhere left to retreat. When Johnston had retreated in the face of McClellan’s army before Richmond in 1862, he finally launched a complex attack that not only failed but left him severely wounded, forcing him to turn over command of the Army of Northern Virginia to Robert E. Lee.
*Includes maps of the generals' famous battles like Gettysburg, Antietam, and First Bull Run.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
*Includes a Table of Contents.
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had just two commanders during the Civil War, but they could not have more different legacies.
The first commander of the army, and one of the South's most overlooked generals, was Joseph Johnston. And when he is remembered, fairly or not, it's for being overly cautious. During the Civil War, one of the tales that was often told among Confederate soldiers was that Joseph E. Johnston was a crack shot who was a better bird hunter than just about everyone else in the South. However, as the story went, Johnston would never take the shot when asked to, complaining that something was wrong with the situation that prevented him from being able to shoot the bird when it was time.
The story is almost certainly apocryphal, but it was aptly used to demonstrate the Confederates’ frustration with a man who everyone regarded as a capable general. Johnston began the Civil War as one of the South’s senior commanders, leading the ironically named Army of the Potomac to victory in the Battle of First Bull Run over Irvin McDowell’s Union Army. But Johnston would become known more for losing by not winning. Johnston was never badly beaten in battle, but he had a habit of strategically withdrawing until he had nowhere left to retreat. When Johnston had retreated in the face of McClellan’s army before Richmond in 1862, he finally launched a complex attack that not only failed but left him severely wounded, forcing him to turn over command of the Army of Northern Virginia to Robert E. Lee.