Confederate Struggle for Command: General James Longstreet and the First Corps in the West (Volume 12)

Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series

by Alexander Mendoza

Was Lt. Gen. James Longstreet a lackluster, indecisive leader or a victim of political circumstances?

Though traditionally saddled with much of the blame for the Confederate loss at Gettysburg, Longstreet was actually a capable, resourceful, and brave commander, argues historian Alexander Mendoza. Confederate Struggle for Command offers a comprehensive analysis of Longstreet’s leadership during his seven-month assignment in the Tennessee theater of operations. Mendoza concludes that the obstacles to effective command faced by Longstreet had at least as much to do with longstanding grievances and politically motivated prejudices as they did with any personal or military shortcomings of Longstreet’s.

Longstreet’s First Corps parted company with Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in September 1863. Subsequently, the First Corps contributed decisively to the Confederate victory at Chickamauga. But when Longstreet then joined a group of disaffected generals in denouncing Braxton Bragg, the commanding general of the Army of Tennessee, the resulting imbroglio hampered the effectiveness of the entire First Corps.

Confederate Struggle for Command adds an important layer of nuanced understanding to the career and legacy of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and will be an enjoyable and informative source for Civil War buffs, military historians, and interested general readers.

 

Genres: Civil War

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Elh52 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the rare book on the Civil War that I couldn't finish. I figured out long ago that Longstreet was a selfish, conceited schemer and have read many times that his independent command in east Tennessee was a bust, and this book goes into minute detail explaining all that. Reading it is torture, which is against the Geneva Convention, so I quit. Lucky for Longstreet that he was a brilliant second-in-command under Lee. Then he became a Republican.

[William Olenick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great summary of the command issues inside the First Corps while deployed in the Western Theater. These issues included the promotion of General Jenkins and struggles of General McLaws. There are photos and illustrations included and a few maps.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A workmanlike examination of James Longstreet's career in the Western theater of the war, in which the author gives the man a basically positive assessment as a field commander, despite running afoul of the minefield that was command relations in the Army of Tennessee. Essentially, while admitting that Longstreet made his own mistakes of social engineering, this monograph is mostly another slam at the Jeff Davis and his inability to separate friendship from the management of his generals.

Originally written: November 25, 2014.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Longstreet in the West - here is a book that has no agenda.
Did he make mistakes? Yes. Did he let his feuds with his subordinates get out of control? Yes. That is all detailed here.
But what is also explained is how Bragg never trusted him - how his Corp was sent off on a mission to East Tenn with scant supplies and almost no transportation and no support.
Extensive use of primary source material - well written.