P.G.T. Beauregard was one of the greatest, although all too widely underrated, leaders of the Civil War because of his charisma, perseverance in the face of adversity, and how he often opted for diplomacy rather than outright warfare. HIs legacy as an exemplary military engineer lives in the many forts he maintained and built throughout the South, in the city of Charleston, which would have been razed by the Union if it wasn't for his protection, and in the naval defense tactics he pioneered while he was at Charleston.