[Moose4]

The Union was pretty good at blowing opportunities in general until Grant and that later generation of Union commanders (Sherman, Sheridan, etc.) got on the scene.

I’m not really a scholar of the WBTS, but I’ve never quite understood how the South had such a large number of solid (or even brilliant) officers at the start of the War, and the Union generalship was so profoundly awful in comparison for the first two years. Then the trends crossed, and as the Union generalship improved throughout the second half of the War, the Confederates couldn’t replace those invaluable men like Stonewall Jackson.

}:-)4

[Non-Sequitur]

I’m not really a scholar of the WBTS, but I’ve never quite understood how the South had such a large number of solid (or even brilliant) officers at the start of the War...

The South really didn't have a large number of solid or brilliant officers at the start of the war or any other time. Lee, Jackson, maybe Forrest. That's not such a large number.