No one had heard of the "Peter Principle" in 1863, but if anyone had Hood would have been the poster child for it. He was close to brilliant in command of a division, but with each subsequent promotion he became less effective. He was superb during the Seven Days campaign, and was highly effective at Second Bull Run.
A proud, contentious, and almost foolhardy man, he was arrested by Longstreet, who wanted to cashier him, but had his career saved by the intervention of Lee. At Antietam, his arrival on the battlefield preserved Jackson's embattled corps, and resulted in his promotion to major general.
At Gettysburg, commanding a division in Longstreet's corps, he attacked the flank of the Union army, but hampered by incredibly difficult terrain, he was halted by a desperate defense. Badly wounded, he lost the the use of an arm, and some months later he lost a leg at Chickamauga, while leading the assault that broke the Union positions there.
In 1864, at the direct order of Jefferson Davis, he was appointed commander of the Army of Tennessee, becoming the youngest man on either side of the conflict to become commander of an army. Tasked with protecting Atlanta from Sherman, the aggressiveness (some would say recklessness) that had served him so well as a brigade and division commander proved disadvantageous. Sherman out thought, out maneuvered and out fought Hood who struggled with command and control of subordinates.
Ultimately, Hood fought a foolhardy and disasterous battle at Franklin, which devastated his army, and shortly after was utterly defeated at the Battle of Nashville.
After the war he went into the insurance business and became a prominent philanthropist, raising money for widows, orphans and disabled veterans of the war. Unfortunately for him, a yellow fever epidemic in 1879 wiped out his insurance business and as a side effect killed him too.
All in all, a fascinating and intelligent man, but one who was clearly better as a subordinate than a commander.
