I2240: Thelma

Notes

Ft. Bragg, NC named for him. See also: http://www.aotc.net/Bragg_home.htm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/CHMbraggbio.htm
Braxton Bragg (1817-1876) (From the Confederate Military History)

"General Braxton Bragg was born in Warren county, North Carolina, March 22, 1817. He was graduated fifth in the class of 1837 at the United States military academy, and received his lieutenancy in the artillery. He served mainly in Florida during the Indian troubles, until 1843, then was in garrison at Fort Moultrie until 1845, when he took part in the occupation of Texas. In the subsequent war with Mexico he served with distinguished gallantry, and was brevetted captain for conduct in defense of Fort Brown, major for valor at Monterey, and lieutenant-colonel for his special services at Buena Vista. He became captain, Third artillery, June, 1846, was on the staff of General Gaines, and on garrison duty until 1855, when he declined promotion to major of First cavalry. He resigned January 3, 1856, and became a planter at Thibodeaux, Louisiana, serving his State, 1859-61, as commissioner of public works.

In February, 1861, he was put in command of the army of Louisiana, and on March 7th was commissioned brigadier-general in the provisional army of the Confederate States, and assigned to the command of the troops and defenses at Pensacola, which he held until January 27, 1862, in the meantime having been promoted major-general and lieutenant-general and assigned to the command of the department of Alabama and West Florida.

In March, 1862, he marched his forces to Corinth, whence in command of the second corps of the army he participated in the movement against Grant and the battle of Shiloh. In this famous combat Albert Sidney Johnston fell, and Beauregard succeeded to the general command, while Bragg was promoted general and assigned to the command of the army of the Mississippi, with Polk, Hardee and Breckinridge as his corps commanders. When after the evacuation of Corinth the army had retired to Tupelo, Beauregard, on account of illness, turned over the command temporarily to Bragg and went to Mobile. Beauregard was thereupon relieved and Bragg appointed as his successor.

He was now in command of the department and all the forces arrayed against the Federal invasion between the Mississippi river and Atlanta, except the command of General Kirby Smith, in East Tennessee. He planned a campaign into Kentucky before Buell was ready to oppose him, hoping by a bold offensive movement to arouse the friends of the Confederate cause in the border States and drive the enemy beyond the Ohio. He transferred his troops to Chattanooga, and set out on his northward movement about the middle of August, Kirby Smith moving with a separate command in cooperation. At Munfordville he captured over 4,000 Federal soldiers, and then moved his army to Bardstown, and with his staff joined Kirby Smith at Lexington, where on October 4th, Hon. Richard Hawes was installed as Confederate provisional governor of Kentucky. At Perryville he encountered Buell's army and was victorious at every point, striking such a severe blow that he was able subsequently to move without loss to his large trains of captured stores, back to Knoxville. Preparing at once for a movement into Middle Tennessee he reached Murfreesboro November 26, 1862, about the date when General J. E. Johnston was appointed to the general command of the new department of the West, including the forces of Smith, Bragg and Pemberton.

On December 30th-31st he repulsed the advance of Rosecrans' army upon his position, gaining a notable victory, but on January 2d he was himself repulsed in an attack on the Federal left. He retreated to Tullahoma, where Johnston was empowered to relieve him of command if that commander thought best, but the result of a visit by Johnston was the retention of Bragg in command. In the latter part of June, 1863, he withdrew to Chattanooga, and thence in September, on account of the Federal forces appearing to the south, fell back into Georgia, where near the Tennessee line the great battle of Chickamauga was fought by the Confederate army under his command September 19th and 20th. It resulted in the complete rout of Rosecrans, the command of George H. Thomas alone holding its ground during the battle. Subsequently he besieged the beaten Federals at Chattanooga and sent Longstreet against Knoxville. When the beleaguered Federals were on the point of starvation they were heavily reinforced by Grant, and the Confederates were forced to retire from Missionary Ridge.

On February 24, 1864, he was assigned to duty at Richmond, under direction of the President, charged with the conduct of the military operations of the armies of the Confederate States. In November following he was given command of the department of North Carolina, and in January, 1865, he commanded the army at Wilmington, and the troops of his department in the final operations against Sherman including the battle of Bentonville. After the surrender at Appomattox he accompanied President Davis through South Carolina and into Georgia, and after peace was restored, having lost all his property, he became engaged as a civil engineer at New Orleans, and superintended harbor improvements at Mobile. He died at Galveston, Texas, September 27, 1876.

He was an officer of remarkable industry and conscientiousness, and unspotted character. He never praised others nor allowed himself to be flattered. His devotion to duty led him to neglect those amenities of social life which are valuable even in war, and he suffered in consequence, but no one ever questioned his patriotism, or his courage."

http://www.civilwarhome.com/braggbio.htm
Braxton Bragg (1817-1876)

Of the eight men who reached the rank of full general in the Confederate army Braxton Bragg was the most controversial. The North Carolinian West Pointer (1837) had earned a prewar reputation for strict discipline as well as a literal adherence to regulations. At one time, the story goes, he actually had a written dispute with himself while serving in the dual capacity of company commander and post quartermaster.

His pre-Civil War career was highly distinguished. After seeing action against the Seminoles, he went on to win three brevets in the Mexican War, in which his battery of "flying artillery" revolutionized, in many respects, the battlefield use of that arm. In 1856 he resigned his captaincy-he was a lieutenant colonel by brevet-in the 3rd Artillery and became a Louisiana planter.

His Confederate assignments included: colonel, Louisiana Militia (early 1861); major general, Louisiana Militia (early 1861); commanding Department of Louisiana (February 22 - March 1861); brigadier general, CSA (March 7, 1861); commanding Pensacola, Florida (March 11 -October 29, 1861); major general, CSA (September 12, 1861); commanding Department of Alabama and West Florida (October 14, 1861 February 28, 1862); also commanding Army of Pensacola (October 29 - December 22, 1861); commanding Army of the Mississippi (March 6-17, May 7 - July 5, August 15 - September 28 and November 7 - 20, 1862); commanding 2nd Corps, Army of the Mississippi (March 29 - June 30, 1862); general, CSA (April 12, 1862, to rank from the 6th); commanding Department June 17 - October 24, 1862 and November 3, 1862 July 25, 1863); commanding Army of Tennessee (November 20, 1862 -December 2, 1863); also commanding Department of Tennessee (August 6 - December 2, 1863, except briefly in August); commanding Department of North Carolina (November 27, 1864 -April 9, 1865, but under Joseph E. Johnston from March 6, 1865); and supervising Hoke's Division, Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee (April 9 - 26, 1865).

Initially commanding in Louisiana, he was later in charge of the operations against Fort Pickens in Pensacola Harbor. Ordered to northern Mississippi in early 1862, he briefly commanded the forces gathering there for the attack on Grant at Shiloh. During the battle itself he directed a corps and was later rewarded with promotion to full general. As such he relieved Beauregard when he went on sick leave and was then given permanent command in the West.

Having served during the Corinth siege, he led the army into Kentucky and commanded at Perryville, where he employed only a portion of his force. On the last day of 1862 he launched a vicious attack on the Union left at Murfreesboro but failed to carry through his success on the following days. Withdrawing from the area, he was driven into Georgia during Rosecrans' Tullahoma Campaign and subsequent operations.

In September he won the one major Confederate victory in the West, at Chickamauga, but failed to follow up his success. Instead he laid siege to the Union army in Chattanooga and merely waited for Grant to break through his lines. In the meantime he had been engaged in a series of disputes with his subordinates especially Leonidas Polk, James Longstreet, and William J. Hardee that severely injured the effectiveness of the Army of Tennessee. Several top officers left the army for other fields, and Longstreet and Simon B. Buckner were dispatched into East Tennessee. With the army thus weakened, Bragg was routed at Chattanooga and was shortly removed from command.

Almost immediately he was appointed as an advisor to Jefferson Davis, his staunch supporter, and maintained an office in Richmond.

Ineffective in the position of quasi-commander in chief, he was dispatched to North Carolina in the waning days of the war. The forces under his command remained inactive during the second attack on Fort Fisher, allowing it to fall. When Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of all forces in North Carolina on March 6, 1865, Bragg was soon relegated to supervision of Hoke's division from his old department. In that capacity he surrendered near Durham Station.

For a time after the war he served as Alabama's chief engineer and then settled in Galveston, Texas where he died September 27, 1876, while walking down the street with a friend. He is buried in Mobile, Alabama. He was the brother of Confederate Attorney General Thomas Bragg. (McWhiney, Grady C., Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat)
Source: "Who Was Who In The Civil War" by Stewart Sifakis

SOUTHERNERS ENGAGE THE YANKEES AT PERRYVILLE OCTOBER EIGHTH 1862
On the Eighth of October in 1862 the Battle of Perryville occurs in Kentucky, and it brings death to over 1200 soldiers. This was part of the federal push into Kentucky. Although Kentucky was on the list of border states, it would begin enduring fierce combat in its valleys and meadows.

The casualty lists from the Battle of Perryville leaves 851 federal troops killed, 515 are listed as missing, and 2851 wounded.
The Confederates lose 510 soldiers to death, 2635 are wounded in action, while only 251 are missing in the event. These southerners had only 16000 troops engaged to a far superior union force.

General Braxton Bragg was commanding these southerners while the union force was under General Don Carlos Buell. Following battle field action, General Bragg decides it's time to move his forces southward. They will continue to engage these northern invaders. [email protected]

http://ngeorgia.com/people/braggb.html
Braxton Bragg
a North Georgia Notable

Born:Warrenton, North Carolina, March 22, 1817
Died: Texas, September 26, 1876
Confederate General
Courtesy, Valentine Museum
Perhaps the most controversial of all ranking Confederate officers, this North Carolina native was a writer, traveler, respected artillery commander and plantation owner prior to the Civil War. Many of his actions during major Western Theater battles in which he fought are still widely debated.

After graduating from West Point Braxton Bragg entered the army as a second lieutenant on July 1, 1837. He fought in the Seminole Wars, 1837-1841 and served under Zachary Taylor during the Mexican-American War. At Monterey, Captain Bragg distinguished himself during bitter street fighting and in an attack on the cathedral and main plaza, but it was during the battle of Buena Vista that his "prompt and fearless conduct" saved the Americans from defeat. He is credited with repulsing a frontal attack through effective use of his artillery, then holding off an attack on General Zachary Taylor's flank while Colonel Jefferson Davis organized a defense of the position. After his brave action he was twice the target of assassins.

After a brief retirement in the late 1850's, Bragg returned to serve in the Louisiana militia until he was appointed Brigadier General by the Confederate States of American in 1861. He was promoted to full general shortly after the disastrous defeat of Rebel forces at Pittsburgh Landing (Shiloh), eventually relieving General P. G. T. Beauregard because of ill-health and an inability to get along with his commanding officer, Jefferson Davis.

Bragg launched a campaign from Chattanooga (city history) during the late summer of 1862 that resulted in liberation of the State of Tennessee and near liberation of the State of Kentucky. He had completely astounded the Union commanders by moving 30,000 men from Tupelo, Mississippi to Chattanooga by rail and moving to the rear of the Federal troops in Corinth. He continued on deep into the border state of Kentucky while General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia moved into Maryland. Many consider this the high-water mark of the Confederacy. The British were on the verge of granting recognition to the South.

Yet it did not hold. Defeated at Perryville, KY. (he lost fewer men but withdrew from the battlefield) Bragg felt the entire campaign had been worthless and retreated across much of the ground he had gained. After the battle of Murphreesboro (Stone's River) on December 31, 1862 and January 2, 1863, he withdrew across the Duck River and established a headquarters in Tullahoma. His old friend Jefferson Davis sent Joseph E. Johnston to visit him in Tennessee. Davis actually wanted Johnston to relieve Bragg, but Johnston refused.

Bragg began to suffer serious medical problems and during the Tullahoma Campaign he would frequently be transported by ambulance because boils made it impossible for him to travel by horseback. The Army of Tennessee ended up back in Chattanooga by July 4, 1863, soundly defeated by various opponents, most recently William Rosecrans. After delaying for nearly 6 weeks, Rosecrans feinted, moving a small detachment of artillery north of the city while ordering a massive troop movement under cover of the rugged mountains to the south of the city. Bragg retreated to protect his supply line, the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Rosecrans pursued Bragg to the banks of a small North Georgia creek, where the Union general ran into stiffer than expected resistance. He began to move north, protecting his flank with the river. Bragg launched an attack on September 19, 1863 that would be named by the creek near which it started, Chickamauga. Routed on the second day of battle, the Federal Army retreated to Chattanooga. Bragg had won the greatest Confederate victory of the war, but refused the advice of almost all his generals, including James Longstreet and Nathan Bedford Forrest and did not attack the retreating Yankees. When President Davis visited in October to discuss the dissatisfaction of Bragg's subordinates, he kept Bragg and transferred the other generals.

Bragg was soundly defeated at the battle of Chattanooga, after which he returned to Richmond, Virginia, and served as an aide to Davis.

During The Atlanta Campaign, Bragg was ordered to Atlanta as an observer. He met with Joseph E. Johnston a number of times between July 13 and 15, 1864, after which he advised Davis that the man who had replaced him as Commander of the Army of Tennessee had no plans to do any more than he had already done. Two days later President Davis replaced General Johnston with John Bell Hood. (more)

After the war, having lost his Louisiana plantation, he was a civil engineer.

General Bragg is one of the most controversial figures in the War of Southern Independence. He instilled a sense of discipline when he took over the Army of the Mississippi (later renamed the Army of Tennessee) in 1862, turning what one soldier called a mob into an organized group of fighting men. Brilliant military strategy was undermined by an inability to work with subordinates, and his skills on a tactical level were lacking. Repeatedly he showed an ineptness at making critical decisions during major battles, including Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh), Murphreesboro (Stone's River), Chickamauga, and Chattanooga."

My Southern Family

Thelma

Orvis T. ARTHUR

Rebecca "Mary" BALDWIN

ABT 1750 - ____

ID Number: I47283

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Gen. Braxton T. BRAGG C.S.A.

22 Mar 1817 - 27 Sep 1876

ID Number: I7607

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Catherine COMPTON

1855 - ____

ID Number: I78742

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Benjamin EATON

ABT 1628 - 16 Jan 1711

ID Number: I70117

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Rev Daniel JAMES

9 Jan 1764 - ____

ID Number: I22138

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THOMAS NEWDIGATE

____ - 1482

ID Number: I72487

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Emily OLIVER

1844 - ____

ID Number: I55967

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Fannie SIZEMORE

25 Sep 1877 - 29 Jul 1928

ID Number: I9977

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Anna Magdalene THOMAS

24 Nov 1715 - ____

ID Number: I95262

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