Johnston and Grant's unequal strategic problem

Albert Sidney Johnston was an experienced and capable Confederate commander whose only practical chance was to defeat Union forces separately. His service stretched from the Black Hawk War and Texas independence through the Mexican-American and Utah wars, giving him unusually broad command experience. He had also risen from private to brigadier general in the Texian army in a little over a year. Grant already had a larger force, Buell was approaching, and further Union reinforcement would worsen the imbalance. Their overlapping service meant Grant probably understood Johnston better than Johnston understood the still-emerging Grant. Lincoln's support rested less on personal familiarity than on Grant's willingness to fight and win, and it repeatedly gave Grant political protection against Halleck's hostility.