Jefferson Davis Dies in 1863

[terrellk]

Stephens was no wartime leader, as has been mentioned. Then again, as has also been mentioned, neither was Jeff Davis. I think if Stephens takes control of the helm and realizes what a bunch of incompetents Davis surrounded himself with, he may reorganize the cabinet. And here is where I wander off in my own little tangent: If Stephens wants to reestablish any chance (no matter how remote) of winning the War, he has got to put Breckinridge in control of the War Department. Breckinridge did a better job in that post in his three months than any of his predecessors combined. Stephens is smart, and a smart man picks the most capable leadership for the job. That would mean canning Seddon and putting Breckinridge in charge.

 

[Anaxagoras]

Stephens was no wartime leader, as has been mentioned. Then again, as has also been mentioned, neither was Jeff Davis. I think if Stephens takes control of the helm and realizes what a bunch of incompetents Davis surrounded himself with, he may reorganize the cabinet. And here is where I wander off in my own little tangent: If Stephens wants to reestablish any chance (no matter how remote) of winning the War, he has got to put Breckinridge in control of the War Department. Breckinridge did a better job in that post in his three months than any of his predecessors combined. Stephens is smart, and a smart man picks the most capable leadership for the job. That would mean canning Seddon and putting Breckinridge in charge.

Putting Breckinridge in charge of the War Department earlier would have been a tremendous help. Firing Lucius Northrop from his position as Commisary-General would also have been a great help.

 

[AtriumCarceris]

Johnston was not in favor. The only people who might have favored it were Hardee and Hindman. In fact, in Johnston's letter to the Secretary of War of February 2, 1864, the AoT commander states simply, "None of the officers to whom the memorial was read favored the scheme."

Where did you hear this? Everything I've read about this indicates to me Johnston was sympathetic but thought it was excessively political and so not something for them to talk about.

The staff officer to whom you are referring is, I believe, Major Calhoun Benham. he did not support the idea but very much opposed it. Indeed, he went with Cleburne to the meeting and read an opposition brief. In fact, it was because he had a copy of the proposal in his own papers that historians ever learned that the Cleburne proposal had been made. Happily, his disagreement with Cleburne on this issue in no way affected his intense loyalty to Cleburne.

No, Major Calhoun Benham was not counted as the staff officer because he was present at the meeting, while this guy wasn't. To count the same guy twice would be misleading.

I was talking about Irving A. Buck, who seemed perfectly agreeable to the proposition from what I see about it.

 

[jkay]

I agree with those whom think Stephens would've lengthened the war a year or two, but that it was too late to get a Southern survival. After all, nobody could've been WORSE than Davis ;-). Really, if you look at his record, promoting the dumb over the smart and stupidly micromanaging even worse than Rumsfelt, you're tempted to wonder if he was on OUR side ;-).


Anexagoras, but weren't the Brits were already against the CSA? Though, I agree it'd discourage any in the British government inclined to think about changing their minds on the change of government.