Why did Turtledove feel the need to make Wilcox, who was quite competent, so unimaginably stupid? He did favor launching direct assaults, but he wouldn't point to the strongest enemy position on the map, order his men to bang their heads against it, and thank God for delivering them victory. I understand that HT needed the US to have stupid commanders but this was way over the top, and disrespectful to a historical figure who was much smarter than he's given credit for. Turtle Fan 06:04, December 1, 2009 (UTC)
- Couple of possibilities: 1) HT sincerely doesn't believe Wilcox was that competent. 2)The situation in the US Army's command structure was such a mess that even competent people were going to be incompetent. I remember lines about how the army was purged in the aftermath of the WoS. TR 15:55, December 1, 2009 (UTC)
- Yes, they cashiered a bunch of defeatists or something. Considering that the war was primarily lost by a general who enjoyed every conceivable numerical, logistical, and technological advantage over his enemy but spent all his time sitting on a rock crying because he didn't think he stood a chance, that seems a natural reaction. I suppose that to avoid McClellan's fate generals who wanted to stay on had to project airs of aggressiveness and confidence. Makes some sense, but it still seems rather exaggerated. Turtle Fan 16:06, December 1, 2009 (UTC)
Locked page[]
The page is locked and there are some things on it in need of fixing.JonathanMarkoff (talk) 05:56, July 11, 2016 (UTC)