The Battle of Wyse Fork / Kinston, 1865

From his headquarters in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the new commander of the Confederate force, Gen. Joseph Johnston, was supervising the concentration of his troops. Among the forces he was attempting to unite were the 3 corps of the Army of Tennessee, which included my great grandfather Nathan Oakes, and Lt. Gen. William Hardee's troops, which recently had withdrawn from Charleston. Johnston hoped to strike Union Gen. William T. Sherman's army, which was headed his way, while it crossed Cape Fear River.

Gen. Braxton Bragg

As Sherman was advancing toward the North Carolina border, Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox¹ was marching his division with Gen. John M. Schofield's Corps inland from New Bern in order to control the rail line and link up with Sherman at Goldsboro. However, as Cox approached Kinston, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg saw an opportunity to defeat him.

On the 6th, Bragg asked Johnston to divert additional troops to him for an attack on Cox. Johnston rushed  the requested troops, under Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill, and instructed him to send them on to Smithfield as soon as possible. Johnston also informed Bragg that Cheatham's Corps, in which Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes was serving, and more than half of Stewart's were in transit by rail from Chesterville to Smithfield under the same orders as Hill's.

On March 7th, Bragg's Confederates blocked Cox's march at Wyse Fork² along the Southwest Creek, 4 miles east of Kinston. That evening, advanced Union guards skirmished with the Confederates entrenched there, opening a 4-day clash in the fields and woods south and east of Southwest Creek.

Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox

On today's date in 1865, Bragg's troops attacked the Union flank. After initial success in routing a portion of the enemy, the Confederate attacks stalled because of faulty communications. Fighting renewed on the 10th, but not before Union reinforcements arrived to repulse Bragg’s attacks. After heavy fighting, and learning that Cox had been reinforced, Bragg withdrew to Goldsboro.

The Battle of Wyse Fork was the second largest battle in North Carolina. In the fighting the Confederates suffered around 1,500 in dead, wounded, or missing. Union casualties were around 1,100.

Bragg's attack had bought only a little more time for Johnston's army. On March 14th, the city of Kinston fell into Union hands. In the days after the battle, the Union forces pushed towards Goldsboro and ultimately to the last major battle at Bentonville on March 19-21.

¹ Gen. Cox is credited with saving the center of the Union line in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864

² For an excellent map of the Battle of Wyse Fork, please visit The Civil War Trust website.

Sources: This Astounding Close, Mark L. Bradley; Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Vol. 2, Jacob D. Cox; Official Records, Vol. 47, Pts. 1 & 2

Bragg's departure

On today's date in 1863, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg took his leave of the Army of Tennessee, which he had led in victory and disaster since assuming command in Tupelo, Mississippi, in June the year before. In an emotional ceremony he surrendered his command of the army, now at Dalton in North Georgia, to Lt. Gen. Hardee. The following is Bragg’s farewell order to his army:

General Order, No. 214. 

Upon renewed application to the President, his consent has been obtained for the relinquishment of the command of this army. It is accordingly transferred to Lieutenant-general Hardee. The announcement of this separation is made with unfeigned regret. An association of more than two years, which bind together a commander and his trusted troops, cannot be severed without deep emotion. For a common cause, dangers shared on many hard-fought fields have cemented bonds which time can never impair. The circumstances which render this step proper will be appreciated by every good soldier and true patriot. The last appeal the general has to make to the gallant army which has so long nobly sustained him is to give his successor that cordial and generous support essential to the success of your arms. In that successor you have a veteran whose brilliant reputation you have aided to achieve. To the officers of my general staff, who have so long zealously and successfully struggled against serious difficulties to support the army and myself, is due, in a great degree, what little success and fame we have achieved. Bidding them and the Army an affectionate farewell, they have the blessings and prayers of a grateful friend. 

Braxton Bragg.

Upon assuming command, Lt. Gen. Hardee issued his own General Order to his men. Considering the unfriendly relations these two men shared, Hardee's remarks about his former commander sound generous and conciliatory.

Soldiers of the Army of Tennessee: 

Gen. Bragg having been relieved from duty with the army, the command has devolved upon me. The steady courage, the unsullied patriotism of the distinguished leader who has shared your fortunes for more than a year, will long be remembered by this army and the country he served so well. 

I desire to say, in assuming command, that this is no cause for discouragement. The overwhelming number of the enemy forced us back from Missionary Ridge, but the army retired intact and in good heart. Our losses are small and will be rapidly repaired. The country is looking upon you. Only the weak need to be cheered by constant success. Veterans of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga require no such stimulant to sustain their courage. Let the past take care of itself. We can and must take care of the future.

W. J. Hardee.

Hardee's command will only be temporary, and President Jefferson Davis will soon pick a more permanent replacement. After asking Gen. Robert E. Lee to consider, who declined, Davis appointed Joseph E. Johnston.

Bragg's departure will be mourned by few under his command. As Civil War author Peter Cozzens writes, "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 the Mississippi—Bragg's removal or their transfer were the only alternatives to an unbearable existence."

Bragg's patriotism and sense of duty are without question. However, his actual leadership skills were a serious mismatch for the demands of a commander-in-chief of an army second to only Robert E. Lee's in Virginia.

Contrary to the warm farewell he delivered to his command, as his official reports and letters demonstrate, it was an embittered Bragg who departed the army on today's date. His own record contains scathing criticisms of his subordinates, and a shifting of blame to them for his own mistakes. He even went so far as to accuse his men of cowardice, which is remarkable considering the actual bravery and indomitable spirit they displayed in their many hardships and sacrifices for this unappreciative general.

So, it is no surprise that many rejoiced to see Bragg go. However, he will soon become the president's  top military advisor, and in that position, continue to wield power and influence over the Army of Tennessee.

Sources: No Better Place to Die, Peter Cozzens; Mountains Touched With Fire, Wiley Sword; Official Records, Vol. 31, Pt. 3

Bragg resigns

On this date in 1863, following the disastrous rout from Missionary Ridge, Braxton Bragg's resignation was formally received by President Davis, and he was relieved from command of the Army of Tennessee, now at Dalton, Georgia. He was ordered to turn over his command temporarily to Lt. Gen. William Hardee, which will take place on December 2.

In typical style, a bitter Bragg will depart the army still reproaching his subordinates for his campaign blunders. In his official report and a letter sent to President Davis on December 1, he blamed the Missionary Ridge disaster on the cowardice of some of his subordinates and on Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge's drunkenness. He will continue to attach his misfortune to the perceived venality and ambition of some of his generals.

Following his resignation, Bragg will continue to receive the President's loyalty and support. On December 7, Davis will publicly shift the responsibility for Missionary Ridge away from his friend. Reporting to Congress Davis said, "It is believed that if the troops who yielded to the assault had fought with the valor which they had displayed on previous occasions... the enemy would have been repulsed with very great slaughter, and our country would have escaped [this] misfortune." Certainly, this is unjust criticism of the troops who so faithfully endured long months of hardship and deprivation under the disapproving and unsolicitous general.

Not surprisingly, many in the army were delighted to see Bragg go. However, he will soon become the president's military advisor, and in that position, continue to wield power and influence over the Army of Tennessee.

Source: Mountains Touched With Fire, Wiley Sword

Leadership in crisis in 1863

"The Murfreesboro campaign and its aftermath destroyed [Confederate Gen. Braxton] Bragg's usefulness as a field commander," writes author Grady McWhiney. Because of the way Bragg had mismanaged his army in the Kentucky Campaign, and his subsequent withdrawal of the army from the battlefield at Murfreesboro, Bragg’s general officers lost confidence in his ability to continue leading the army. Not surprisingly, the retreat from Murfreesboro set off an avalanche of criticism of the army's commander, and according to Civil War historian Peter Cozzens, "a wave of unrest swept over the Army of Tennessee."

Upon arriving at Tullahoma, most of Bragg's high ranking officers agreed that a change in command was necessary. Sensing the lack of support from his generals, Bragg invited their opinion about whether he should resign. Most of the leading officers agreed that he should.* Soon, President Davis intervened and instructed the Western Department commander, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, to proceed to Bragg’s headquarters in Tullahoma to decide what should be done. After investigation and interviewing many of Bragg's high ranking officers, Johnston recommended that Bragg be left in command, which he was. Having received Johnston's and Davis's support, Bragg began retaliatory action against several of his subordinates, further diminishing any respect he may still have have had among them. This would play out badly for Bragg and his army in the coming campaign for Middle Tennessee.

It was also a significant factor in the South's defeat, says McWhiney. "One of the great ironies of Confederate military history is that Jefferson Davis, who prided himself so on his knowledge of the capabilities of those former regular army officers [i.e., Beauregard, Hardee, Polk] who fought for the South, failed in the war to assign Bragg to a position where his talents could be used best. Instead, the President had placed and retained Bragg in a post—as commander of the Confederacy's second most important army—where he made a major contribution to Confederate defeat."

* Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne, in whose division my great grandfather served, added his own view:

I have consulted with all my brigade commanders... and they unite with me in personal regard for yourself, in a high appreciation of your patriotism and gallantry, and in a conviction of your capacity for organization; but at the same time they see, with regret, and it has also met my observation, that you do not possess the confidence of the army in other respects in that degree necessary to secure success.

Source: Tullahoma: The 1863 Campaign for the Control of Middle Tennessee, Michael R. Bradley; Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat, Grady McWhiney; This Terrible Sound, Peter Cozzens; Official Records, Vol. 20, Pt. 1

Bragg assumes command of the army

Braxton Bragg graduated from West Point in 1837, ranking 5th in his class. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 3rd US Artillery. He fought in the 2nd Seminole War of 1835-1842, and later distinguished himself in the War with Mexico, being promoted up the ranks to lieutenant colonel. During that war, Bragg became friends with Col. Jefferson Davis, who years later became President of the Confederacy. After the Mexican War, Bragg retired to the life of a sugar planter in Louisiana, but he remained active with the state militia, rising to the rank of colonel.

Following Louisiana's secession from the Union on January 26, 1861, Bragg was promoted to major general and given command of militia forces in New Orleans. As the Civil War was coming to Louisiana, Bragg was promoted to major general that same year. The spring of 1862 found Bragg leading his men north to Corinth, Mississippi, to join Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston’s Army of Mississippi. He was a corps commander in the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862), and following Johnston’s death on that battlefield, Bragg became Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard’s second-in-command.

On this date in 1862, at camp at Tupelo, Mississippi, Bragg officially assumed command from Beauregard. By now Bragg had a well-earned reputation as a strict disciplinarian and an obsessive follower of military procedure. The appointment was not well received by many in the army, primarily due to his widely known harshness as a corps commander, as well as his public distain for many of his subordinate officers. Throughout the upcoming campaigns, Bragg will fight nearly as bitterly with some of his subordinates as he will against his Northern enemy, a fact that will cost his Southern army dearly. His senior generals—in particular, William J. Hardee, James Longstreet, and Leonidas Polk—have so little confidence in him that they will try more than once to have him replaced. One of his cavalry generals, Nathan Bedford Forrest, held Bragg’s leadership in such low regard that he once threatened Bragg with his life. And another of his generals, former USA Vice President, John C. Breckinridge, almost challenged Bragg to a duel because of his mismanagement at Murfreesboro.

Although Bragg's leadership style invited many detractors, he generally was respected for his field command and excellent ability for organization. He had other command characteristics, too, that the Confederate army desperately needed. And while he eventually will lose the support of his generals, backing will come from above in the form of his old friend, President Davis. It is Davis who will save Bragg’s command, at least for the next year and a half. However, according to one historian, Grady McWhiney, Davis's decision to retain Bragg will become "a major contribution to Confederate defeat."

But 150 years ago today, Gen. Braxton Bragg became the commanding general of the 40,000-man Army of Mississippi (a.k.a. Army of Tennessee). His blunders, many of which will result in bloody disasters for the common soldiers like my great grandfather, Nathan Oakes, are yet to come.

Source: Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat, Grady McWhiney