Braxton Bragg (i), full general in the Confederate Army, was born on this day, March 22, 1817. Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, today would be his 192nd birthday.
Bragg, a graduate of West Point, would fight the Seminoles, in Florida, and serve bravely during the Mexican War. He would reach the rank of lieutenant colonel, before retiring, in 1856, to farm in Louisiana. After the 
start of hostilities, he would quickly be confirmed, brigadier general, in the Confederate Army. After being promoted, major general, he would serve, under Albert Sidney Johnston, at Shiloh. After Johnston’s untimely death, at Shiloh, Bragg would quickly become a full general, in the Confederate Army. He would lead the Army of Tennessee, into Kentucky, in 1862, and would be quickly repulsed, at Perryville, and would be pushed back into Tennessee. In December, 1862, US Major General William S. Rosecrans’s, US Army of the Cumberland, would push him further south, after defeating him, at Stones River. In 1863, Bragg would be further humiliated, after a relatively bloodless campaign, near Tullahoma, TN. Bragg’s army would achieve it most shining victory, when it defeated Rosecrans, at Chickamauga, pushing them out of Georgia. Bragg, never loved by his troops, would be relieved from duty, after US Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s army, would defeat them at Chattanooga. After a literal mutiny, amongst his chief lieutenants, including CS Lieutenant General James Longstreet, he would be removed from command. However, Bragg, a close friend of Jefferson Davis, would be brought to Richmond, to serve as Davis’s military advisor. Bragg would finish the war, serving under Joseph E. Johnston, in the Carolinas Campaign. After the surrender of CS General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, at Appomattox Court House, Bragg would flee south, with Jefferson Davis. He would be captured, along with Jefferson Davis, in Georgia.
After the war, Bragg would serve as the superintendent of the New Orleans water works, chief engineer for Alabama and a railroad inspector. Bragg would die at Galveston, Texas, on September 27, 1876. He is buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama.
(i) Braxton Bragg at BattlefieldPortraits.com, and Wikipedia, were used to research this article.
