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Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws (b. 1821, d. 1897). He secured high ranks early in the war. That he cared for his men and took care of every detail got him the reputation of being slow and lacking aggressiveness, so he never rose to corps command. The Georgian had graduated from West Point (class of 1842) together with his childhood friend James Longstreet. His grades were not brilliant (48th out of 62) thus he could only serve in the infantry. He fought in the Mexican-American War, in the Utah War against the Mormons and served at the frontier. That he was married to a nice of Pres. Zachary Taylor helped him to rise to the rank of captain. He resigned his commission after his native state had seceded and rose quickly from major (May 1861) to Brig. Gen. in September 1861 in the Confederate Army. During the Seven Days he commanded a division under Gen. John B. Magruder. When Gen. Robert E. Lee renamed and reorganized the army, Maj. Gen. McLaws (since May 23, 1862) became divisional commander in Gen. Longstreet’s corps. His division had to remain near Richmond at the beginning of the Maryland campaign and in consequence missed the Second Manassas Battle. It assisted in the capture of Harpers Ferry but did not arrive at Antietam till the battle had already begun on September 17, 1862. Lee criticized McLaws for being slow, but according to artillerist and historian Edward Porter Alexander, McLaws’s men arrived in good condition and fought well. The general’s shining moment came at Fredericksburg, where he prepared the Confederate trenches on the hills above the town. His men fought back the main Union attack, inflicting high casualties on their frontal attacking opponents. The division remained with the main army when Longstreet was sent to North Carolina on a forage expedition, thus it was present at Chancellorsville. It held its ground till Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s attack pushed the Union troops back. However the battle was not over, and when Gen. John Sedgwick’s corps threatened the Confederate rear, McLaws was assigned to stop and destroy the isolated corps. He accomplished the former but not the latter, leaving Lee disappointed. When a third corps was created on the eve of the Pennsylvania invasion, Lee did not consider McLaws as the commander though he was the most senior ranking division commander of the army. The Georgian thought of being transferred from the army but in the end stayed. Longstreet promised Lee to supervise McLaws closely, which he did at the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 2, 1863). The turning of the Federal left flank failed nevertheless, after heavy fighting in the Peach Orchard and the Wheatfield. With Longstreet’s corps McLaws’ division was transferred to Tennessee in the fall of 1863. Its commander arrived too late to lead it at Chickamauga. He was part of the Knoxville campaign though. The failure of the attacks on Fort Sanders and at Bean’s Station ended the friendship between McLaws and Longstreet. The Lieut. Gen. relieved his subordinate from command and requested the court-martial of McLaws. The court decided in favour of McLaws but the War Department sent him to South Carolina. He was not able to defend Savannah against Gen. William T. Sherman and surrendered in North Carolina in April 1865. After the war he worked in the insurance business and as postmaster of Savannah, where he was buried after his death. In the debate on the Confederate defeat he defended the wrongly accused Longstreet against his critics, but when he came himself under attack for his conduct at Gettysburg, he blamed Longstreet.
Ldr: 5
Tact: 4
Init: 3
Cmd: 6
Cav: 0
Steady (2), Entrenchment

Thanks!

I already gave him Diggers and Woodsmen, but can probably add Steady as well.

Oh, this time I forgot to look at his votes. My problem with the results is that too many of the ratings seem to be taken from the performance at Gettysburg rather than including the whole war record.

Those ratings of 3-5-2-6 were determined by yours truly. We had voting on all 100-percenters, but for 25-percenters it would have been too much work, so I came up with ratings that seemed about right and sought public comment. I'll look over your suggestions and probably go with those, since my intention was always to go with my own ratings until bios were written. Thanks for the input.

I did not know that. As mentioned elsewhere you have to keep the game balance in mind, which makes it more difficult for you. The difference between our numbers is narrow, while you stressed tactics, I stressed leadership. There is certainly good reasons for both, as McLaws' divsion had good soldiers and his care for them helped them to stay in good condition.

Should I lower your leadership number and my tactics number, and make him 4-4-3-6, or should he be better than "Fair" in one of those first two?

Maybe good in tactics and fair in leadership would make it. After all his troops inflicted high casualties on the enemy.

Okay, 4-5-3-6 it is, then. Thanks!