More on the Possibility of Beauregard as Commander of the Army of Tennessee in 1864

On December 3, 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee recommended that President Jefferson F. Davis appoint Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard commander of the Army of Tennessee.  OR 29, 2:859.  Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, former Army of Tennessee chief of staff Brig. Gen. William W. Mackall and  Beauregard himself urged, and the general public demanded, however, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's appointment.  "To these appeals Davis, much against his inclination, yielded and appointed Johnston to the command of the army."  Elsworth Eliot, Jr., West Point in the Confederacy, 184.  (Davis's inclination seems to have been General Lee, who appears to have talked the president out of it.  OR 29, 2:861.)  On December 8, the Richmond Whig advocated the appointment of either Beauregard or Johnston.  When Johnston was appointed, Beauregard congratulated him.  Eliot, West Point in the Confederacy, 184.   

 

Jefferson F. Davis

           Library of Congress 

Choosing a commander of the Army of Tennessee was difficult enough for Davis once Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee declined to take command in late 1863.  Replacing Johnston once his unacceptable performance became intolerable during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign may well have been just as difficult.

Richard M. McMurry goes into this more thoroughly in Atlanta 1864 than Albert E. Castel in Decision in the West.  Dissatisfaction with Johnston's performance began to voice itself as early as May.  On June 24, Johnston's friend Senator Louis Wigfall visited Johnston and informed him that Davis was considering replacing him with Lt. Gen.  John Bell Hood.  

By this time, Beauregard had demonstrated his superiority to Johnston by defeating Butler at Second Drewry's Bluff (May 16) and Grant at Second Petersburg (June 15-18).  One might naturally ask why Davis was not considering Beauregard as well as Hood.  When Johnston was removed in July 1864, Beauregard hoped to take command of the Army of Tennessee.  T. Harry Williams, P. G. T. Beauregard, Napoleon in Gray, 239.  

There are at least two reasons why Davis did not consider Beauregard as a replacement for Johnston.

First, Davis appears to have been dissatisfied with Beaurgard's performance in May and June if sniping at the Louisianian by Davis' military advisor Gen. Braxton Bragg was any indication.  Bragg complained about Beauregard's abandonment of the Howlett Line opposite Bermuda Hundred in order to concentrate on the defense of Petersburg.

Second, Hood was with the Army of Tennessee while Beauregard was hundreds of miles and several days away; Hood could step into Johnston's shoes much more easily than the Louisianian.  Davis did not remove Johnston until July 17.  At that point, only Hardee and Hood were under consideration to replace Johnston.  The Federals were at the gates of Atlanta.  Beauregard could not have arrived in time to take command before action had to be taken against them.  Lee thought the pressing circumstances required the appoitment of someone with the Army of Tennessee such as Hood or Hardee and Lee seems to have leaned toward Hardee.  Lee did not mention Beauregard in recommending a replacement for Johnston.  Castel, Decision in the West, 353.

Beauregard and his partisans were disappointed when command of the Army of Tennessee was given to Hood.  It's hard to imagine that Beauregard or Lee would not have defended Atlanta more effectively than Hood.  Beauregard and Lee reacted immediately to movements against their flanks (June 21-23, August 18-21).  Hood neglected to block the Federals till they were within a mile of his last railroad, forcing him to attack them in entrenchments.