Best Civil war General

I used to post on various forums (full of statistics, arguments, etc.) arguing that Lee, Grant, and Sherman were all overrated (Sherman the most so) and that Stonewall Jackson was the best general of the Civil War.

The Great Campaign Series, Rebel Yell by S. C. Gwynne, and Such Troops as These by Bevin Alexander were my primary sources. Also George B. McClellan and Civil War History by Thomas J. Rowland, helped convince me Sherman and Grant were overrated and that McClellan was the most underrated general of the war.

Will I find anyone who agrees with me here?

Arguments over the quality of generals is probably best conducted on Quora, where you will find partisans on all sides, some thoughtful and well informed. Here is a better space for discussing the quality and merits of books about civil war (or other wars') generals.

That said, I found Rowlands book on McClellan thought provoking and persuasive with regards to giving McClellan more credit than he is generally accorded, without seriously diminishing my good opinion of Grant.

I would say that it's hard to judge how good a general Stonewall was, as compared to the men on the top rung of the military food chain, without having held an independent command with strategic impact. For all we know, assuming that Jackson survived Chancellorsville, and that Lee was willing to part with him, he might have done no better than John Bell Hood.

>2 wbf2nd: Thanks for the heads up, I will focus more on individual books in the future. I am new to the site.

>3 Shrike58: He did have independent commands and when he was not under Lee he excelled, such as second Mananas, and The valley Champaign.

>3 Shrike58: Or Longstreet. His performance at Chattanooga was unimpressive.

>4 JebSmith: Welcome! New voices are good for the group, as is discussion of insights gleaned from the books read and recommended.