When merit was not enough: Albert Sidney Johnston and Confederate defeat in the West, 1862 / Steven E. Woodworth -- "Responsibility is great": Joseph E. Johnston and the war in Virginia / Alan Downs -- Fighting for defeat? George B. McClellan's Peninsula campaign and the change of base to the James River / Ethan S. Rafuse -- Generalship on trial: Don Carlos Buell's campaign to Chattanooga / Stephen D. Engle -- In defense of Fighting Joe Hooker / Stephen W. Sears -- Misused merit: the tragedy of John C. Pemberton / Michael B. Ballard -- "If properly led": command relationships at Gettysburg / Brooks D. Simpson.