Instructor: Dr. Steven E. Woodworth
Texts:
    Jefferson Davis and His Generals, Steven E. Woodworth
    Two Great Rebel Armies, Richard McMurry
    Atlanta Will Fall, Stephen Davis
    Retreat to Victory?, Robert G. Tanner
Class Meeting: 11:00-2:00 W—MB 141N
Office Hours: TR 9:00-12:00; W 9:30-11:30
Office:  RH 310 257-6293, s.woodworth@tcu.edu
 website: http://enterprise.is.tcu.edu/~swoodworth/

Description
This course will examine the issues and problems involved within the Confederate government in selecting and using generals and in developing and implementing national strategy during the Civil War. Topics include the personal role of Jefferson Davis, the influence of Robert E. Lee, and the problematic service of Braxton Bragg, P. G. T. Beauregard, and Joseph E. Johnston, among others. We will explore the controversies among Confederate leaders between offensive and defensive strategy and between Virginia the western theater of the war.

Grading
Students’ grades will be based equally on three book reviews, class participation, and a final exam. Book reviews should be 3-4 pages long, typed, double-spaced, and should summarize and evaluate the book being reviewed.

Final grades are determined on the basis of the following scale:
90 to 100 =A
80 to 89 =B
70 to 79 =C
60 to 69 =D
59 & below=F

Schedule—Spring 2002

1.  January 16: Jefferson Davis & the Confederacy’s War—The Confederate president and his initial selections of generals and strategy

2.  January 23: Beauregard, Johnston, & Manassas—How the Confederate high command achieved and utilized the war’s first major victory and how its aftermath affected command relationships

3.  January 30: Polk, Pillow, & Kentucky Neutrality—Initial command decisions and the setting of the stage for further developments in the Mississippi Valley

4.  February 6: Disaster in the West—Mill Springs, Forts Henry & Donelson, New Orleans, Memphis, and Shiloh

5.  February 13: The Rise of Lee—How Davis selected Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia and Lee seized the strategic initiative, both from the enemy and from his own government.
Book review of Two Great Rebel Armies due

6.  February 20: The Rise of Braxton Bragg—A new Confederate commander in the West and new hopes of recovering what had already been lost there.

7.  February 27: Winter of Discontent in Tennessee—The Battle of Murfreesboro and the disarray within the high command of the Army of Tennessee

8.  March 6: Davis, Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet at High Tide—Confederate high command and the campaigns of the spring and summer of 1863
Book review of Retreat to Victory due

9.  March 20: Davis, Bragg, and Disaster in Tennessee—The Tullahoma, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga Campaigns

10. March 27: Holding the Line in Virginia—Davis and Lee and the struggle to halt Grant’s drive on Richmond, 1864

11. April 3: Johnston and Atlanta—Davis and the search for an effective commander for the Army of Tennessee
Book review of Atlanta Will Fall due

12. April 10: Final Exam