Going back to his days at West Point, Edwards had earned a reputation for being sharp-tongued and contentious. General John Joseph "Blackjack" Pershing, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front, particularly despised him. Edwards made another enemy in Major General Robert Lee Bullard during the 26th Division's relief of the 1st Division near Toul in April 1918. Edwards found fault with everything he saw, and accused the 1st Division of leaving behind classified documents. Bullard was enraged, but Pershing always favored the 1st Division, and reassured him, and nothing came of the incident. In July 1918, during the Second Battle of the Marne, the I Corps commander, Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett found that, although the 26th Division did not lack for heroism and fought valiantly, he could not depend on its commanders, especially Edwards, to subjugate his unit to Regular Army divisions.