A very skilled and talented general, and probably in the top five or so that The South had in terms of performance. Johnston, a generally friendly man and a much loved general, had a rather legitimate resentment against Davis due to his rank. He'd been one of the highest ranking generals in either army, serving as Quartermaster General prior to the war, but was still ranked below some others by Davis . Johnston was one of the leaders at Manassas and the overall commander of The Army of Virginia, and like Longstreet, he was a particularly good defensive general, but he was injured in 1862. Lee replaced him as commander in Virginia. When he returned, resentments, his own stubborness and ill advised remarks, and political intrigues led to his being ignored, replaced, and reassigned.

Joseph Eggleston Johnston is a controvesrial figure in the eyes of history. He is called "Retreating Joe" by his detractors and "Uncle Joe" or "Old Joe" by his supporters. Johnston had his pros and cons as a general as everyone else did.

Pros: that he was personally brave was undeniable, that he was inspiring to the soldiers under his command is also self-evident, cool and level headed in a crisis and a good battlefield commander.

Cons: sensitive to questions of rank and military etiquette, short tempered and vague in giving orders and responding to enquiries from a higher office.

Often outnumbered by more than double the effective force under his command and more often than not sent into theaters to clear up someone elses mess he found himself in many unwinnable situations and failed to do much in them.

The greatest criticism of him on campaign would be in the Vicksburg campaign when he spent more tme arguing with Davis than attempting to fight.

He was a general who was loved by his men and hated by the President whom he hated in equal measure. Johnston did not trust Davis as far as he cold throw him and Davis shared the sentiment. This poor relationship between General and President, partly the fault of both men, lessened the effectiveness of Johnston in the field and forced any support Johnston would recieve from Davis to be minimal.

All in all he was a good general who could have contributed much more to the Confederate cause if only he and Davis could have settle their differences peacefully and been able to work together for a their cause without their personalities getting in the way.

Genius on defense >< also very capable fighter