John Bell Hood: A Bid for Fame

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Hood resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and entered the Confederate Army as a resident of Texas. Originally appointed a first lieutenant he served on the Virginia peninsula in 1861 and received rapid promotion. During the Peninsular Campaign, Hood actively sought opportunities for combat and established a reputation as an offensively-minded, daring combat leader. Assessment of his performance as a commander is buried in a mountain of postwar charges and recriminations. Ambition, bravery, and the use of influential friends to gain positions of high responsibility characterize Hood's career. Sustaining a series of defeats, he constantly fought with his subordinate commanders and disparaged his troops. His style of command was modeled after that of Lee, but was unsuitable to the Army of Tennessee, and he demonstrated a lack of managerial and logistical understanding. These factors, with his early successes, which carried him to a level beyond his ability, account for his defeat with the Army of Tennessee.