From Antietam to Chancellorsville: September 1862 to May 1863Battles For the West |
Why does General Bragg have such a gloomy, almost dismal reputation? |
Sad to say, he truly earned it. Born in North Carolina in 1817, Bragg graduated from West Point in 1837. Just a year later, serving against the Seminoles in Florida, he came down with a debilitating combination of fever, dyspepsia, and boils, and these would resurface to attack him many times over the years (especially when he was under stress). Bragg had a volatile temper, which often brought him into conflict with his subordinates, and that he rose in the Confederate Army is largely a result of his friendship with Jefferson Davis.

Although he had success at the Battle of Chickamauga, Confederate General Braxton Bragg did not have the best of reputations, especially in his treatment of subordinates.