Conflict and Controversy in the Confederate High Command

The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 was critical in determining the outcome of the American Civil War and helped reelect Abraham Lincoln that November, assuring eventual victory. The largely overlooked campaign in Georgia has seen a resurgence of interest in the past decade. Dennis B. Conklin adds to the growing literature with Conflict and Controversy in the Confederate High Command: Davis, Johnston, Hood and the Atlanta Campaign of 1864. Conklins account, which originally appeared as a Ph.D. dissertation, offers a look at the dysfunctional relationships that permeated upper echelon leadership and helped lead to the defeat of the Army of Tennessee and the loss of the important logistical rail city. Crucial flaws in Jefferson Daviss leadership in general, he explains, and the mutual distrust between the Southern president and Joseph E. Johnston (commander of the Army of Tennessee), had them working at cross purposes. As the campaign progressed and large swaths of territory were lost to Gen. William T. Shermans advancing armies, the ongoing hostile relationship between Davis, Johnston, corps commander John Bell Hood, and Georgias Governor Joseph Brown intensified. Daviss initial uneasiness with Johnston at the helm was part of the reason he elevated Hood to lead an infantry corps in the primary Western army before the campaign opened. Hood, who matured as a tactical commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under the aggressive Robert E. Lee, grew increasingly frustrated by Johnstons withdrawals, leading to what Conklin believes was their inevitable clash at Cassvillea critical dispute fueled by inconsistent maps and conflicting battlefield ideologies. The resultant letters to and from key players in Richmond did nothing to increase Daviss faith in Johnstons leadership and contributed to Hoods eventual elevation to command of the army. Conflict and Controversy in the Confederate High Command is a fascinating fast-paced study on the politics of command, human nature, and the stress of war, and how it all combined to influence the outcome of the Civil Wars most important campaign.