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.