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Military strategies in the civil war
Military strategies in the civil war
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In the book Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West author Steven E. Woodworth describes many personality traits of the Confederate President Jefferson Davis which led to several repeat mishandlings of the western theater that was fatal to the Confederate war effort. Although Davis had a strong dedication to the Southern cause, and a political and military education he was insecure and indecisive. This resulted in him making and repeating three major errors as commander in chief. First Davis habitually relied on many of his pre-war friends. In fact, Davis commonly chose personal friends to military roles which were often quickly proven to be a bad choice. This examination leads to Davis’ next weakness,
President Abraham Lincoln demanded a decisive victory. He was tired of his military leadership’s inability to decisively engage and defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Allowing the war to drag on was to the Confederacies advantage. Lincoln was so frustrated that he relieved General George B. McClellan for failing to defeat Lee at Antietam, and replaced him with General Ambrose Burnside, who proved to be very conservative in battle against General Lee. Knowing that General Lee was a student of Napoleonic warfare, Burnside feared that Lee always had a large Corps in reserve waiting to flank should he be decisively engaged from the front.
When we compare the military leaders of both North and South during the Civil War, it is not hard to see what the differences are. One of the first things that stand out is the numerous number of Northern generals that led the “Army of the Potomac.” Whereas the Confederate generals, at least in the “Army of Northern Virginia” were much more stable in their position. Personalities, ambitions and emotions also played a big part in effective they were in the field, as well as their interactions with other officers.
Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, showed weaknesses within his leadership which may have contributed to the confederacy’s loss and the unions win . Davis failed in three vital ways. These ways were: his relations with other confederate authorities and with the people, as well as in his fundamental concept of his job as president and in his organization and specific handling of his role as commander in chief . Davis failed in maintaining communication with leaders and with his people, often unable to admit when he is wrong which led to lack organization in his role . In addition, Davis was a conservative leader, not a revolutionary one which meant that his strength was often in protocol and convention rather than in innovation . Studying each of these aspects that represented a weakness in Jefferson Davis’s leadership, Lincoln in comparison provided more admirable and outstanding qualities within his leadership which in many ways affected the outcome of the war
THESIS: Thomas Jefferson was a wealthy plantation owner and politician that would speak out about slavery on a regular basis but would still employ slaves for his own use.
Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman observed to a Southern friend that, "In all history, no nation of mere agriculturists ever made successful war against a nation of mechanics. . . .You are bound to fail." While Sherman's statement proved to be correct, its flaw is in its assumption of a decided victory for the North and failure to account for the long years of difficult fighting it took the Union to secure victory. Unquestionably, the war was won and lost on the battlefield, but there were many factors that swayed the war effort in favor of the North and impeded the South's ability to stage a successful campaign.
In the year of 1800, Jefferson ran for the second time averse to former president, John Adams but unlike the previous election, John Adams wins the presidency, Jefferson was able to defeat John Adams. The Adams lost the election due to passing the Alien and Sedition Acts, Considered unconstitutional laws because the Acts took away the first amendment, freedom of speech. Jefferson was a more promising choice as he promised to have a “Republican Revolution”, Jefferson promised to help the yeoman farmer and decrease the Federal debt the United States had at the time period. Jefferson’s presidency was to a certain extent a “Republican Revolution” and to a certain extent it was a Federalist Continuation.
Jefferson Davis struggled to lead the Confederacy to independence in the U.S. Civil War. Lincoln was treasured by the African Americans and was considered an earthly incarnation of the Savior of mankind (DeGregorio 20-25). On the other hand, Davis was both admired and hated. Lincoln had a different view of how the The U.S. should be abolishing slavery. Davis was a politician, president of the Confederate States of America, and also a successful planter.
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. has been awarded many different awards during his time in the military, such as two Distinguished Service Medals and a Silver Star (Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.). These awards show all of the struggles and hard work he put in to get to where he wanted to be. Davis Jr. was one of the first commanders in the air force. His dad, Davis Sr., was the first general in the military (Benjamin O. Davis, Jr). Davis Jr. had many role models during his childhood, many struggles during his military training, and overcame many challenges and had many major accomplishments.
Over the course of the war, the Confederacy teetered between offensive and defensive campaigns. Although Davis reportedly preferred a, “thoroughly defensive, survival-oriented grand strategy,” according to Steven E. Woodworth, his actions and orders didn’t always reflect this preference. Some notable campaigns that turned the tide of war were General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson repelling McCllelan’s forces from the Rappahannock peninsula, and Lee’s later campaigns in Virginia and Kentucky. The term offensive-defensive came about as a result of these campaigns. It wasn’t clear if Davis was in full support of this strategy, but Lee most definitely was, and Lee was Davis’s champion similarly to Grant for Lincoln. Lee felt that, “There is nothing to be gained by this army remaining quietly on the defensive,” and when the Confederate situation grew more desperate, Lee told Jubal Early, “we must destroy this army of Grant’s before he gets to the James River. If he gets there, it will become a siege and then it will be a mere question of time.” Although Davis had a superior military background, his wishy-washy interactions with his generals, and support of different strategies was his
Along with his arguments of mental inferiority, Jefferson argues that blacks concede their inferiority through their submissiveness to the slave owners. This argument is met by Walkers’ appeal to the people for action. He states that, “unless we try to refute Mr. Jefferson’s arguments respecting us, we will only establish them” (Walker 18). It is an urgent call for action that urges not only blacks but other abolitionist, to stand up and fight against the stereotypes. He calls for black people to stop being submissive and to stand up for their rights. He also calls on blacks to not allow their oppression to hinder them from attaining as much knowledge as is reachable given their circumstances. He uses Jefferson’s demeaning statements to incite black people to rise up against the injustices being done to them. Through his derogatory statements towards black people, Jefferson, the champion of equality, is inadvertently giving Walker a means to inflame the fight in black people.
Grant remained a child at heart throughout his life, and seems never to have realized that he was one. His faith in the goodness of humanity was unbounded, and he was taken advantage of. His simplicity of nature was remarkable, yet this simplicity was the mainspring of his success; certainly it was the first asset of his generalship. While McClellan could see nothing beyond his own operations and Halleck nothing outside of his textbooks, Grant saw things as they were, uncontaminated by his ideas or anyone elses. He saw that the entire problem of winning the civil war was nothing more than an equation between pressure and resistance. The side which pressed the hardest along the lines of least resistance was going to win.
Sears’ thesis is the Union could have won the war faster. McClellan was an incompetent commander and to take the initiative to attack an defeat the Confederate army. The Army of Northern Virginia, under...
Throughout history there have been many debates in regards to the qualifications required for an individual to be considered a strong and efficient leader. In discussion of Abraham Lincoln, one controversial issue that he and his fellow countrymen experienced was the separation of the Union into two opposing branches, which are the Confederacy and the Union. However, even with the issue of a Civil War right in his backyard no one has come close to the level of leadership that was demonstrated by Abraham Lincoln during his presidential terms. Abraham Lincoln exemplified his leadership qualities by expressing concern for his soldiers, maintaining integrity throughout his terms, and his courage in keeping the Union together
Jefferson, a black man condemned to die by the electric chair in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, is perhaps the strongest character in African-American literature. Jefferson is a courageous young black man that a jury of all white men convicts of a murder he has not committed ; yet he still does not let this defeat destroy his personal character. Ernest Gaines portrays Jefferson this way to illustrate the fundamental belief that mankind’s defeats do not necessarily lead to his destruction. The author uses such actions as Jefferson still enjoying outside comforts, showing compassion towards others, and trying to better himself before dying. These behaviors clearly show that although society may cast Jefferson out as a black murderer, he can still triumph somewhat knowing that he retains the qualities of a good human being.
I am running for president because I want to inspire people to make good choices and to help others with daily school struggles. Two character traits that I have that would make me be a great president is that I am a good listener and I take concerns into action. I can use both character traits to listen to what my fellow classmates have to say about their concerns and take action. I plan to make longer lunches on Friday’s, same locker schedule as the morning, longer locker pass times, create online textbooks, be able to wear no uniform, and to have less homework. As a president I will solve these five problems that face my fellow Spanish River Christian School classmates by putting all my effort into solving these problems we face.