Question of the Week: 9/27-10/3/21

Last week we asked about grumpy commanders, so let’s change to the opposite side:

In your opinion, who was the most positive leader during the Civil War? Why and do you think his optimism well founded or naïve?



3 Responses to Question of the Week: 9/27-10/3/21

  1. Abraham Lincoln. Humorous, determined, always the smartest man in the room (despite several horrible generals in a row). America’s greatest President, the Great Liberator.

  2. If we are referring to Most Inspiring Leaders…
    For the North the man who springs to mind is Adam Slemmer. In January 1861 this U.S. Army First Lieutenant led a rag-tag band of men in occupying Fort Pickens: approximately 80 soldiers and sailors successfully held Brigadier General Braxton Bragg at bay. During the ordeal at Pensacola Bay, Slemmer worked alongside his men; and took advantage of every opportunity to better their situation and improve security and living conditions on that western tip of Santa Rosa Island. [Slemmer was finally reinforced in April 1861, after the war began at Fort Sumter.]
    Representing the South, the leader I would most want to serve with: James I. Waddell of the CSS Shenandoah. Over the course of a one-year cruise, Shenandoah sank over twenty enemy merchant ships, with no human casualties incurred by friend or foe. And at a time when “jumping ship” was common by crewmembers in foreign ports, Shenandoah had no deserters (and actually added more than thirty “stowaways” to her crew during a visit to Australia.) A Captain is known by how his ship performs; and the crew of Shenandoah obviously performed extremely well, sailing around the world and reaching safety at Liverpool.
    As for the Civil War Leader with the best sense of humor… I agree with darylmcdonald0208 that that would have to be Abraham Lincoln. Although believed to suffer from melancholy and depression, Lincoln was infamous for his anecdotes and jokes; and he could entertain listeners for hours.

  3. A veritable icon of Civil War legend, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is best known for his heroic participation in the Battle of Gettysburg. Chamberlain and his regiment, the 20th Maine Infantry, gained notoriety for their desperate bayonet charge down Little Round Top on the Second Day of the Battle

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