Braxton Bragg

This guy took himself so seriously, that it was almost comical. First before I tell a story that I LOVE about Braxton Bragg....let me tell you about the man.

He was born in 1817 in Warrentown, North Carolina. He graduated from West Point in 1837. After West Point, he served in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican War...were he was promoted for "valor displayed" at the Battle of Buena Vista. In 1856 he retired from his military life and moved to his plantation in Louisiana to become a planter.

In 1861 when the Civil War began, he was appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate Army...he was concentrated in the Gulf Coast region. In 1862 he was assigned a command under Albert Sidney Johnston. But Johnston was killed in the Battle of Shiloh and Bragg was named Johnston's replacement....making him a full general. Then In June, 1862 he was named the replacement for P.G.T. Beauregard.

Just some of the battles that he took part in were: Shiloh, Perryville, Murphreesboro, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. Because of a horrific loss at Chattanooga, he was removed from command and spent the remainder of the war as an advisor to President Davis.

After the Civil War, he settled in Alabama and Texas as a civil engineer.

Now, let me tell you a little story about this man. This story, whether its true or not, tells you a lot about this man, because whether it happened or not, many said that it could have.

At one point in the Civil War, Bragg was in command of both his Corps and was company quartermaster. Legend has it that he had a battle of wits with himself because he believed that he was correct on both accounts. As corps commander, he was requesting supplies for his troops, as quartermaster, he had to deny the request because they weren't necessary. Supposedly this paper "argument" got so heated that he ended up putting himself on report. This is a story I've heard repeated quite often but its never been as funny as the time that I heard Prof. Gary Gallagher tell it. Like I said before, I don't know if this really happened or not, but it does tell much about this man.