Portal:American Civil War/Selected biography/13

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Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer and a general in the Confederate States Army, a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, the younger brother of future Confederate Attorney General Thomas Bragg, Braxton Bragg graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, served in the Second Seminole War in Florida and Mexican-American War, earning a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian and one who adhered to regulations literally.

Initially a colonel of state militia, Bragg quickly rose to one of the Confederacy's eight full generals, commanding the invasion of Kentucky in 1862, at Stone's River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. Despite the close and full support of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Bragg proved a rash and unsuccessful field commander who often developed personal conflicts with officers under his command.