When Bragg was only ten years old, his father decided on a military career for him and sought ways to obtain a nomination to the United States Military Academy.
When Bragg was only ten years old, his father decided on a military career for him and sought ways to obtain a nomination to the United States Military Academy.
General Braxton Bragg was an American Confederate major general. He was a professional soldier who served with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and as commanding general of the Army of Tennessee, the Confederate States of America, during the Civil War.
Background
Braxton Bragg was born on March 22, 1817, at Warrenton, North Carolina, United States. He was the son of Thomas Bragg, a contractor, and builder, and of Margaret Crossland, an energetic and intelligent woman.
Bragg's father moved to Warrenton in 1800 to practice the trade of carpentry and was so engaged when he married Margaret Crossland in 1803. Ambitious and intelligent, the carpenter became a contractor, eventually acquiring a two-story brick home in Warrenton and about twenty slaves.
Braxton's elder brothers, John and Thomas, both became successful lawyers, and both had distinguished political careers. Less notable were Alexander, a successful architect; Dunbar, a Texas merchant; and the youngest, William, who was killed in the Civil War.
Education
Braxton attended the Warrenton Male Academy for nine years, where his teachers regarded him as an excellent student. With the help of Senator Willie P. Mangum secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was graduated near the top of his class in 1837. He graduated four years later as a second lieutenant, 3rd Artillery.
Bragg was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for the battle at Buena Vista, February 23, 1847, where his battery, by its extraordinary activity, filled gaps in the American lines and broke the attack of a vastly superior Mexican force.
In 1856 he resigned from the army and purchased a plantation in Louisiana. He became a commissioner of public works and designed the drainage and levee system of his adopted state.
Early in 1861 Bragg was appointed a colonel, and soon after a major-general in the Louisiana militia. On February 23, he has commissioned a brigadier-general, Confederate States Army, and assigned to command the coast between Pensacola and Mobile. In January 1862 he became a major-general. On February 15, 1862, he proposed to the Secretary of War that his command be in part sent to Kentucky, where he foresaw that important events would take place. His advice was accepted, and he was ordered north. At Corinth, Mississippi, he assisted General Johnston to organize his army. Bragg was given command of the 2nd Corps, and in addition, was chief of staff. He went with the army to Shiloh.
On April 6, at the first attack at Shiloh, the 2nd Corps was in the second line, but it soon became merged into the front line, Bragg supervising the Confederate right. With great energy, he assaulted the Federal lines and captured thousands of prisoners and many guns. A considerable part of the success of this day was due to the energy and vigor of Bragg. On April 7, the Federals, reinforced by Buell's fresh army, had only exhausted Confederates in front of them. Fighting bravely, the latter slowly retreated until the order was given to withdraw to Corinth whither they were not followed. On April 12 Bragg was promoted to general, and on June 27 relieved Beauregard of the command of the Army of Tennessee.
On July 20, General Kirby Smith at Knoxville advised Bragg that the Federals were about to seize Chattanooga. Kirby Smith suggested that Bragg strikes into middle Tennessee to relieve the situation. Bragg at once adopted this idea. He promptly started his command for Chattanooga where he arrived with most of his army by the end of the month, ahead of the Federals. On July 30 it was agreed that Kirby Smith, with about 18, 000 men, should turn the Union forces at Cumberland Gap and advance into Kentucky. Bragg at the same time, with 30, 000, was to march on and seize Munfordville, Kentucky, and then join Kirby Smith. This plan of action was political. It was hoped that a Confederate army in Kentucky would induce that state to join the South. The plan was defective from a military point of view, in that it failed to provide for defeating the Federal army under Buell, then in front of Chattanooga. Due to a lack of transportation, a month's delay occurred, and Bragg did not start until August 27. He then moved rapidly and captured Munfordville on September 17. He was now between Buell's army and its base at Louisville and could either have attacked the one or taken the other. But he did not feel strong enough to attack Buell, and the political nature of his expedition led him to Frankfort to install a Confederate state governor. This was fatal to the success of his campaign. Buell reached Louisville, united his forces, and set out to fight Bragg.
On October 8, Buell fought a part of Bragg's army at Perryville. Tactically the battle was drawn, but Bragg being unwilling to fight to a decision withdrew that night into Tennessee. Kentucky had shown no desire to join the South, and the campaign was a failure. It led to great dissatisfaction with Bragg, but he retained his command. At the end of December, a new Federal army under Rosecrans advanced on Bragg, then near Stone River, Tennessee. Bragg, always energetic, attacked on December 31, although he had only about 38, 000 men against 47, 000. The Confederate attack made great gains, but Bragg failed to force the fighting on the next day or otherwise exploit his victory. After minor fighting, he judged his men were exhausted and faced by superior numbers, and on January 3, 1863, he withdrew to Tullahoma. This was a repetition of Shiloh and Perryville. Although full of energy, Bragg was not persistent. After Stone River, he invited his subordinates to express their opinion of him and received frank statements that his presence was not wanted. President Davis, however, decided to keep him in command. In June 1863, Rosecrans maneuvered Bragg out of Tullahoma, and by September 9, out of Chattanooga. Forced into the mountains, Bragg sought to destroy fractions of the Federal forces while they were separated one from another. Several combinations failed, due to lack of support by subordinate generals. This was the result of quarrels and resentment. But on September 19 and 20, Bragg attacked Rosecrans at Chickamauga. He won a notable victory and forced the Federals with severe losses back into Chattanooga where he laid siege to them. In this, he made a serious error.
Had he continued his offensive he might have captured large forces, but siege operations brought him nothing. Grant, assigned to the command of the Federals confronting him, opened a line of supply, and then attacked Bragg at Chattanooga on November 23 to 25. The Confederate center broke, and Bragg retreated to Dalton, Georgia, where on December 2, 1863, he surrendered command of his army to Johnston. This ended Bragg's important services. During 1864, he was at Richmond, nominally as commander-in-chief. Practically he was the military adviser to President Davis. He had several minor commands.
His last battle was on March 8, 1865, at Kingston, North Carolina, against a part of Sherman's forces. He accompanied President Davis in his flight to Georgia, was captured on May 9, and was paroled. After the war Bragg practiced as a civil engineer at Mobile and later in Texas, was a commissioner of public works of Alabama for four years, and supervised the harbor improvements of Mobile.
Achievements
Religion
Like many other high-ranking Confederates, Bragg "got religion" during the war. Bishop Stephen Elliott visited the Army of Tennessee in late May 1863. After the many trials he had gone through, Brugg urged all his men to prepare for baptism but gave no indication of his personal views about religion.
Politics
In early 1864 Braxton Bragg became the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Views
Braxton Bragg strongly believed in the theory of states' rights. He also felt great loyalty to his adopted home state of Louisiana, which voted to join the Confederacy in January 1861.
Personality
Bragg was intelligent and energetic and had a stern sense of duty. Irritable and quarrelsome, he made many enemies. This prevented him from securing that loyalty from subordinates which military commanders need. He was a strict disciplinarian, and the Confederates had in the west no organizer to equal him.
Physical Characteristics:
Bragg was described as tall, bearded, and ungainly.
Quotes from others about the person
"Davis relied heavily upon Bragg's understanding of military affairs and institutions. Although he did not always agree with Bragg, Davis consistently sought his expertise and opinion on a variety of matters. By untiringly assuming many of the duties and much of the criticism that had burdened and perplexed Davis, Bragg eased some of the president's vexations. In the process he maintained old enmities and created many new ones." - Judith Lee Hallock
"Even Bragg's staunchest supporters admonished him for his quick temper, general irritability, and tendency to wound innocent men with barbs thrown during his frequent fits of anger. His reluctance to praise or flatter was exceeded, we are told, only by the tenacity with which, once formed, he clung to an adverse impression of a subordinate. For such officers - and they were many in the Army of Mississippi - Bragg's removal or their transfer were the only alternatives to an unbearable existence." - Peter Cozzens
Connections
In 1849, Bragg returned to the eastern United States and married Eliza Brooks Ellis, the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana plantation owner.