After all, El Mission Accomplishensis II and his Poppy received their most important lessons in Texas. As reported in Eisenhower’s autobiography of his first administration: It seems Ike used the example of Senator Bush (grandpappy)as one of the reasons he intended to veto or oppose an Oil Industry related Bill. They had gotten word that some Texas Oil Baron was complaining bitterly about all the money he donated to Senator Bushes (Prescott) campaigns and how the “ingrate” was now ammending a bill against their wishes. He told all present that Senator Bush aint gonna get no more of his black-gold funding and furthermore, his son (Poppy, GHW) “aint gonna get any business from my friends neither”…. or words to that effect. Some may say this illustrates the Senator being ethical despite his industry funding but I really think they got an early Texas lesson and never forgot it.

As to Forrest, I once asked a former Army officer who went to West Point and his two compadres from the alma mater if they had discussed Forrest in Guerilla War strategy courses. None of them, and these were no dopes… had ever heard of or knew of Forrest!

One of the saddest things of Memphis is Forrest Park, near the old Sun Studios. On a trip there a few years ago, I made a minor pilgrimage to the park to check the statue out after walking through Sun Studios . It was about 3 months or so after a major local windstorm. Well, there in the park, in a marginal neighborhood on a main road was the statue but it was surrounded by downed limbs from the storm, long grass, cracked sidewalks and general neglect. I asked somebody about it and they replied that Forrest is a bit “controversial” (unlike MLK I suppose)and that politically, nobody liked to talk much about the old Devil. Apparently Fort Pillow and early anti-carpetbagger…aka KKK action excluded NBF from polite conversation. Though a long-time Westerner-Yankee sympathizer, I personally took umbrage and am not at all surprised we are in the fix we are currently in militarily when West Point Graduated Officers don’t know who the hell Forrest is. As regards to slavery, I understand the old firebreather redeemed himself in his old age and anybody with even a modicum of historical literacy will understand the anti-carpet baggger foundations of the KKK and so temper any easy post-mortem assumptions they might make.

Could the South have prevailed after a protracted mountain guerrilla war? I really doubt it but I think it is safe to say that the Republic likely missed having what could have been one of it’s best presidents in Lee. Artillary, money, time, expendable grunts and industrial capacity won the war for the North, certainly not the quality of the northern generalship. The lack of an instantanious media depiction of the carnage of the battlefield also no doubt helped. The major good thing regarding northern officers and the Civil War is that it demonstrated McClellans ineptness and dashed his long-held hopes for the Presidency.

The current pampered citizenry would clamp their vents shut and vapor-lock if confronted by the level of destruction seen during the Civil War.

The North won the civil war but set in motion a Federalization that would ultimately weaken the Republic and the same essential story exists today, we won the Cold War but set in motion attitudes and behavior that has severely exposed and weakened us.
“Winning” does have it’s perjorative qualities.

At least the southerners with kids to name at least had more sense than the wizards in Richmond who kept giving Braxton Bragg armies to squander.

On the other hand - it is difficult to turn left in downtown DC without running into some horsey statute of some second rate Yankee general.

But I live off Quintard Avenue - Polk’s buddy - so I can’t say much!

It was unfortunate that some of the southern generals were canonized after the war - the halos that were attached obscured some military failings.

I am always surprised when folks not raised in the Shenandoah Valley are mystified when I invoke his name.

Forrest was an absolute master - it pangs me to read of all the crap he took from Richmond and his commanders.

Amazing how many nitwits Richmond put in charge in the western theater….