What if someone other than McClellan leads the AoP?

SsgtC

Banned
Is there any way short of a mass death scenario to get Winfield Scott Hancock promoted to command of the AotP?
 
He already was getting Press attention and his whole performance in the Missouri Crisis really shows a political skill and a willingness to push for Glory. Its pretty damn likely he'd at the very least make a play for command in the perceived big league of the East. But it is a matter of getting his plan to work.

Yeah, having walked the ground and read about the battle from a couple of sources it was really ambitious. Two pronged attacked with neither force able to observe or support the other.

BUT

Against an enemy force full of green troops, many of them poorly armed, most of them tired, and with surprise, he might have pulled of a route.
 
Yeah, having walked the ground and read about the battle from a couple of sources it was really ambitious. Two pronged attacked with neither force able to observe or support the other.

BUT

Against an enemy force full of green troops, many of them poorly armed, most of them tired, and with surprise, he might have pulled of a route.
Actually if Lyon had a better subordinate than Sigel, it's possible Lyon's plan would have worked. He probably would have better off concentrating his troops rather than dispersing them as he was already outnumbered two to one, but in fairness, he couldn't have known at this point that Sigel was practically useless. Still, his tactics at Wilson's Creek were questionable and helped cost him his life. But he probably would been a very valuable asset for the Union had he lived. After all, he was energetic, intelligent, and aggressive.
 
Actually if Lyon had a better subordinate than Sigel, it's possible Lyon's plan would have worked. He probably would have better off concentrating his troops rather than dispersing them as he was already outnumbered two to one, but in fairness, he couldn't have known at this point that Sigel was practically useless. Still, his tactics at Wilson's Creek were questionable and helped cost him his life. But he probably would been a very valuable asset for the Union had he lived. After all, he was energetic, intelligent, and aggressive.

Sigel was definitely a weak point in the plan, although in fairness Sigel did pull the army out of the fight successfully, gave the Confederates a bloody nose, and pulled back with his force reasonably intact. But scouting was a definite failing at Wilson's Creek.

But Lyon's saved Saint Louis, which was the critical linchpin for the Mississippi River campaign, and he drove the Confederates to the far southwest corner of Missouri at a critical time. The right man at the right time.
 
Sigel was definitely a weak point in the plan, although in fairness Sigel did pull the army out of the fight successfully, gave the Confederates a bloody nose, and pulled back with his force reasonably intact. But scouting was a definite failing at Wilson's Creek.
I beg to differ. In the battle itself, Sigel made no effort to use his cavalry to contact Lyon, and he sent only a handful of skirmishers into the potentially dangerous blind ground to his front. Sigel became passive at the very moment McCulloch was working to regain the initiative. Sigel's handling of the retreat from Springfield was terrible. Sigel moved so slowly that there was a good chance that a determined Confederate pursuit would have destroyed his force.
But Lyon's saved Saint Louis, which was the critical linchpin for the Mississippi River campaign, and he drove the Confederates to the far southwest corner of Missouri at a critical time. The right man at the right time.
Can't really argue against this. However, there is no guarantee that Lyon would have made a good army commander. While he was energetic, intelligent and aggressive, he seemed too willing to overstep his bounds politically. After all, his campaign was launched without Washington's authorization and he did destroy the legal government of a state that had not yet left the Union. While I would argue that his initiative at securing Missouri for the Union was commendable by all means, the politicians may be frustrated with his overstepping of political boundaries.
 
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