The Making of General John B. Hood: A Study of Command
Abstract
Students of the Civil War are well versed in the operational campaign successes and the generalship of Lee, Grant, and Sherman. A lesser-known campaign, General John B. Hood's invasion of Tennessee during the winter of 1864, may have been the most important one of the war. Hood's record as a tactician was brilliant. For this he received command of the Army of Tennessee as it grappled with Sherman at the gates of Atlanta. After the fall of the city, the Confederacy's options for prolonging the war to exhaust Northern resolve were limited. Although shaken and reduced, Hood's army was the only substantial force available for offensive operations. A threat to Sherman's lines of communications in Tennessee and subsequent victory there might have negated the Union threat to the South's heartland and recovered all that had been lost at Atlanta. This was not to be; Hood all but destroyed his army in the try. This paper is an analysis of the relative fitness of one military leader's character at escalating levels of command. From early life, Hood possessed the traits of personality that were destined to make him a brilliant success at the tactical level, secure his elevation above it, and cause him dismal failure once there. This paper is a journey into the enigma of successful generalship.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA264613
Entities
People
- Harry W. Houchens
Organizations
- United States Army War College