"Confederate" generals in the US without a Civil War

Let's indulge in some major hand-waving and presume that somehow (unspecified) slavery fades out in the US at approximately the same time as it was abolished in the British Empire; i.e., the 1830s, and there was no Civil War as we know it. What becomes of men like Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and others?
 
They probably remain prominent officers in the United States army, as many were before Secession. Some could maybe go on into politics; Robert E Lee in particular was highly praised in the US army before defecting, and his great personal charisma could lead to politics quite easily; especially as Zachary Taylor had already set a precedent of generals going into politics. I think President Lee is unlikely but possible. Though it's also possible that many of them would never have become so prominent without the war (certainly not so quickly). Lee, for example, was "just" a colonel at the start of the war, as was Jackson; Forrest was a businessman.

Of the not-so-famous but high ranking CSA officers, many had been high ranking in the US, too; for example, Samuel Cooper had been Adjutant General. Albert Johnston was commander of the Department of the Pacific. Beauregard was superintendent of West Point. Etc.

Most of those that had been private citizens wealthy enough to raise battalions or regiments, and then went on to be great commanders would probably remain in the private sector. Maybe some would be very successful, maybe some would be mediocre or fail, as the overlap between "great general" and "great CEO" is not universal.

But we probably wouldn't know almost any of their names.
 

jahenders

Banned
Many of them might have been successful in their fields (some military, some not), but we'd likely never have heard of most of them. A lot may depend on what events/climate led to the early abolition of slavery.

It's possible that some of the Southern leaders might not have been so prominent because they might not have been so wealthy.

While it's possible that Lee could have gone into politics, I suspect he'd have stayed "local" -- governor of Virginia, etc.
 
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