Gerald --

You'll get no argument from me on this point. I've not studied Wheeler's operations during early stages of the Chickamauga Campaign in any detail, but a cursory review raises substantial questions. Why did Wheeler do so little to oppose Federal crossings along the Tennessee River or the mountain gaps on the Georgia-Alabama line? Why were his reports of Federal movements so haphazard and inadequate?

His two Tennessee raids were clearly disasterous, and I could raise other questions, but you get my drift. Wheeler did have some good moments as a cavalry commander. Covering the Confederate retreat from Kentucky was one major accomplishment, and Wheeler's pursuit and destruction of McCook's Raid (late July 1864) was another.