On Tuesday, December 1, 1863, while accepting his demotion from field command, Braxton Bragg responded Jefferson Davis concerning the criticism against him noting, “The disaster admits of no palliation, and is justly disparaging to me as a commander…I fear we both erred in the conclusion for me to retain command here after the clamor raised against me.”
Bragg, who at times proved himself an able soldier, had too often shown that he could not work with others; throughout his military career from the Mexican War forward he had consistently criticized others for his failures.
For years to come the quarrels, charges, and countercharges by Bragg and his subordinate officers would continue. Bragg’s detractors were not all from the Confederate side; Ulysses Grant also was highly critical of Bragg’s martial abilities.