BRAGG, BRAXTON
Bragg, Braxton
(March 22, 1817–September 27, 1876)
Confederate General
A
personal favorite of Confederate Presi-
dent Jefferson Davis, Braxton Bragg
was a fine organizer and a strategist of
real ability during the Civil War. However, his
lack of nerve under stress, coupled with a gar-
rulous, combative personality, limited his ef-
fectiveness for field command and cost the
Confederacy several key victories.
Bragg was born in Warrenton, North Car-
olina, on March 22, 1817, the son of a
wealthy plantation owner. As a youth, he at-
tended a local military academy and in 1833
gained admission to West Point. An apt
pupil, he graduated fifth in his class of 40 in
1837 and received a second lieutenant’s com-
mission with the 3rd U.S. Artillery. Bragg
proceeded to Florida and fought in the Sec-
ond Seminole War until its conclusion in
- Four years later, his artillery company
joined Gen. Zachary Taylor’s Army of Occu-
pation in Texas, and he fought with distinc-
tion in the Mexican-American War. Bragg
masterfully handled his cannons and won
three consecutive brevet promotions for gal-
lantry at the Battles of Fort Brown and Mon-
terrey in 1846 and the decisive victory at
Buena Vista in February 1847. His cannons,
double-shotted with grape and canister,
proved decisive in repulsing the Mexican at-
tacks of Gen. Antonio López de Santa
Anna. Bragg departed Mexico as a brevet
lieutenant colonel and for the next five years
served at the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri
and various other posts along the frontier.
He advanced to major in March 1855 but, dis-
liking garrison duty, resigned his commis-
sion the following January and retired to a
sugar plantation in Louisiana.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, Bragg
appeared to be one of the more promising of-
ficers of the Confederacy when he was com-
missioned brigadier general on February 23, - A strict disciplinarian, he quickly sorted
out the coastal defenses between Pensacola
and Mobile and received promotion to major
general in January 1862. Bragg ventured west
in this capacity to command a corps in the
Army of the Mississippi under Gen. Albert S.
Johnston and distinguished himself during
the attack on Shiloh on April 6–7, 1862. Union
reinforcements prompted a Confederate
withdrawal, but in June, Bragg succeeded
Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard as commander
of the newly renamed Army of Tennessee.
That August he launched an audacious inva-
sion of neutral Kentucky in an attempt to
bring that state into the Confederate fold.
However, Bragg failed to prevent a Union
force under Gen. Don C. Buell from occupy-
ing Louisville and on October 8 he fought
Union forces to a standstill at the bloody but
indecisive Battle of Perryville. This ended
Bragg’s invasion, and he withdrew through
the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee, pursued
by the army of Gen. William S. Rosecrans.
Sensing an advantage, the Army of Tennessee
suddenly turned and pounced on Rosecrans
at Murfreesboro on December 31, 1862, in-
flicting heavy losses. By battle’s end, the Con-
federates held commanding positions of the
field, but Bragg inexplicably failed to press
his advantage and ordered a retreat. Here-
after, Bragg’s leadership received intense crit-
icism from fellow officers, but because he
still enjoyed the confidence of Davis, his
command was secure.
For several months into 1863, the Army of
Tennessee sat idle while Bragg bickered with
Gen. Leonidas Polk and Gen. William J.
Hardee over what to do next. At length, Rose-
crans advanced into Tennessee and both he
and Bragg engaged in months of maneuvering
for position. Union forces had the better of it,
and by September Bragg abandoned Chat-
tanooga without firing a shot. He fell back to
the mountains of northern Georgia awaiting