Bragg, Braxton

Life Span
to
    Full name
    Braxton Bragg
    Place of Birth
    Birth Date Certainty
    Exact
    Death Date Certainty
    Exact
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    White
    Sectional choice
    South
    Origins
    Slave State
    No. of Spouses
    1
    No. of Children
    0
    Family
    Thomas Bragg (father), Margaret Crosland (mother), Thomas Bragg (brother), Elise Brooks Ellis (wife, 1849)
    Education
    West Point (US Military Academy)
    Occupation
    Military
    Farmer or Planter
    Military
    US military (Pre-Civil War)
    Confederate Army

    Braxton Bragg (American National Biography)

    Scholarship
    Bragg was unfairly criticized both by his contemporaries and subsequent historians until efforts were finally made to distinguish facts from the rumors about him. He was a skillful military planner and administrator, but his inability to control his temper, particularly in matters requiring deft, political sensitivity, only amplified the anger and distrust he caused through his mistakes. In addition, while many of Bragg's decisions resulted in disaster, he often was burdened with incompetent and rebellious subordinates and almost always was faced with having to train inexperienced troops. However, the misunderstanding of Bragg's talents placed him in critical positions in the Confederate army, where, hampered by his inability to accept responsibility for his own shortcomings, he ultimately made significant contributions to the defeat of the Confederacy.
    Timothy P. Twohill, "Bragg, Braxton," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00135.html.
    Chicago Style Entry Link
    Kuehl, Daniel T. ""Double-Shot Your Guns and Give 'Em Hell!" Braxton Bragg and the War in Mexico." Civil War History 37, no. 1 (1991): 51-65. view record
    How to Cite This Page: "Bragg, Braxton," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5174.