Reviewed by Brian Dirck (Assistant Professor of History,
Anderson Univerity) Published on H-Indiana (May, 2000) Most
Mediocre of All Don Carlos Buell does not seem to have left much
of a mark on the Civil War's outcome, despite having performed
adequately in some important tasks. As commander of the Union
Army of the Ohio from the beginning of the war through October,
1862, Buell oversaw the capture of Nashville. He is perhaps best
known for having come to the rescue of a beleaguered Ulysses S.
Grant at Shiloh, and for stopping -- or at least getting in the
way of -- Braxton Bragg during his invasion of Kentucky. But
when Buell left the army under a cloud in late 1862 for his
failure to pursue Bragg after the Battle of Perryville, few
seemed to care or even notice. He lacked the colorful
eccentricities of William T. Sherman or Stonewall Jackson, the
solid record of success in critical moments like George S.
Thomas or James Longstreet, or even the spectacular failures of
Ambrose Burnside. Buell seemed like the