Nathanael Greene: Washington's trouble shooter. Took command in the South after the defeat at Camden and ran the British ragged. The only man who could have continued the war if Washington had been killed.
Winfield Scott. Commanded the Mexico City campaign. Later formulated the Anaconda Plan of the Civil War.
Zach Taylor: Deftly maneuvered his army into northern Mexico, defeating the Mexicans at Monterey and Palo Alto.
Arthur MacArthur: Commander during the key time in the Philippine Insurrection 1900-1902. A counterinsurgency every bit like Iraq. Father of you know who.
Hunter Liggett: Commanded a division, corps and later army in the AEF. After the first half of the Meuse-Argonne offensive ended in stalemate, Liggett took charge of 1st Army, cleaned it up, and managed the AEF's breakthrough on November 1st.
Joe Stilwell: Remembered as 'Vinegar Joe', Stilwell's Hukawng Valley campaign of '44 was a model advance using pin and hold tactics. He used one Chinese division to pin the Japanese, the other to hit their flank, and then infiltrated the Marauders behind them; three times.
Creighton Abrams: Took over in Vietnam after Westmoreland. Basically won the war by 1972 via classic COIN tactics. He has a tank named after him. There is no McClellan tank.
Fred Franks: Commanded Schwarzkopf's left hook in Desert Storm. This was a complicated corps level maneuver through open desert. Fought off the Iraqis and Stormin Normin who put enormous pressure on Franks to 'pursue' the Iraqis. Franks had to point out that he could pursue the Iraqis if they weren't yet retreating. Calm an reassuring amidst Stormin Norman's bluster.
Tommy Franks: Liberated Afghanistan with the low footprint operation and then liberated Iraq. 2-2, I say.
Bob Casey: The man who commanded before Petraeus laid a lot of the groundwork for his success.
And a few overrated...
Andrew Jackson: Did little more than beat back a British punitive expedition and slaughter some Creek Indians.
James Longstreet: fine when under Lee and given precise instructions, a mess when not, see his confusing movements during the Chattanooga campaign.
And the worst:
Horatio Gates, George B, McClellan, William Westmoreland, Rick Sanchez.
And the most confusing:
MacArthur: His defense of the Philippines made no sense, but his New Guinea campaign was brilliant. Inchon was a fine operation, but caught completely by surprise by the Chi-Coms. Then there was the little thing with Truman.
Honorable Mention:
'Mad' Max Thurman: Planned and executed the invasion if Panama. Also revolutionized army recruitment in the '80s, 'Be all that you can be!'
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