How did John magruder and and John Reagan contribute to the civil war?

Answer 1

Reagan (no relation!) was the Confederate Postmaster-General, notable for being one of the only two Confederate ministers who kept their seats throughout the war.

Magruder was an interesting case of a mediocre General, who scored one spectacular hit, stemming from his experience in amateur theatricals, not military combat.

Before the war, Magruder had been stationed in the desert, where his men had too little to do, and just spent their time drinking and brawling. Magruder declared that they were entitled to some form of musical or theatrical entertainment, but the top brass said this was an unmilitary idea. So Magruder staged unofficial concerts and plays, often with himself acting and singing. These shows were enormously popular with the troops.

In 1862, Magruder was serving under Robert E. Lee in Virginia, when they were greatly outnumbered by McLellan's army which was threatening Richmond.

Magruder realised that he had a chance to use one of his favourite theatrical devices - marching a small number of men across the stage and round the back, so that they would look like a continuous marching column. This managed to fool McLellan into thinking that Magruder had vast numbers on the high ground facing him. It caused McLellan to lose his nerve, and the Peninsula Campaign was lost, largely on account of this deception tactic.