The President of the Confederacy has been a controversial figure for more than a hundred years. Hamilton J. Eckenrode hinted that the Confederacy may have been doomed to defeat as early as 1847 when Jefferson Davis formed his regiment of Mississippians into an obtuse angle and halted the attacking Mexicans at Buena Vista with converging rifle fire. By 1861 Davis had developed some clear views on military affairs. He believed that wars were justified to protect the honor or the security of a people. Davis revealed many of his military concepts in the 1850's while he was either a member of Congress or Secretary of War. If Davis underestimated the navy's importance in war, no such charge can be made against him regarding the army. As President of the Confederacy, Davis would be guided in his military appointments by the concepts of leadership that he had formed before the Civil War.