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List of American Civil War Generals (Confederate)

Confederate generals

The Confederate and United States processes for appointment, nomination and confirmation of general officers were essentially the same. The military laws of the United States required that a person be nominated as a general officer by the president and be confirmed by the Senate and that his commission be signed and sealed by the president.

Despite legal interpretations that would preclude posthumous confirmation of appointments or delivery of commissions, the U.S. Senate and the Confederate Senate confirmed a few appointments of officers known to be dead and did not recall or revoke a few other confirmed appointments for officers who had recently died or died before receiving their commissions. No brevet appointments were made in the Confederate States Army but twenty acting or temporary general officers were authorized by and appointed under Confederate States law. At least one State militia (Virginia) had at least one brevet general (Francis Henney Smith).

Although not as prevalent as in the Union Army, some dates of rank in the Confederate States Army were before the date of appointment or commission. Under an Act of September 1, 1861, the Confederate Congress permitted Confederate President Jefferson Davis to make recess appointments and nominations subject to Confederate Senate confirmation during the next term. Confederate Senate confirmation of general officer appointments was usually prompt early in the war but often was delayed in the last two years of the war.

Details concerning Confederate officers who were appointed to duty as generals late in the war by General E. Kirby Smith in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, who have been thought of as generals and exercised command as generals but who were not duly appointed and confirmed or commissioned, and state militia generals who had field commands in certain actions in their home states but were never given appointments or commissions in the Confederate States Army are in the List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate). Not all colonels or lower ranking officers who exercised brigade or division command at any time are in this list but those most often erroneously referred to as generals are. A few acting or temporary Confederate generals were duly appointed and confirmed as such. The full entries for these officers are in this list.

The notes mainly show pre-war military education or experience, pre-war political office, ranks and appointments prior to general officer appointments, some major assignments or events, information on wounds, killed in action or otherwise during the war, a few close relationships, deaths soon after the war, several of the longest lived generals and Spanish–American War service. As noted above official CS rank was shown as a collar insignia of three stars within a wreath for all grades of general officers; there were exceptions to this rule: Robert E. Lee always wore rank insignia of a colonel (three stars without a wreath); Benjamin McCulloch always disliked army uniforms and was wearing a black velvet civilian suit and Wellington boots at the time of his death; Joseph L. Hogg died of disease before he could put on a uniform. Abbreviations and notes:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

Y

Z

The full text of the following three sections has been moved to List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate). The names of the officers in each section are retained under each section here for convenience and reference.

Assigned to duty by E. Kirby Smith

Incomplete appointments, unconfirmed appointments, refused appointments, posthumous appointments or undelivered commissions

State militia generals

The highest rank attained in the named state militia is shown. The rank in the Confederate Army, if known, is shown.

See also

Notes

References

  • Allardice, Bruce S. More Generals in Gray. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. (pbk.).
  • Boatner, III, Mark M., The Civil War Dictionary. David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1959. .
  • Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001. .
  • Faust, Patricia L., ed., Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., New York, 1986. . Entries by Faust, various authors.
  • Heidler, David S., and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. . Entries by Heidler and Heidler, various authors.
  • Sifakis, Stewart, Who Was Who in the Civil War. Facts On File, New York, 1988. .
  • United States War Department, The Military Secretary's Office, Memorandum relative to the general officers appointed by the President in the armies of the Confederate States--1861-1865 (1908) (Compiled from official records). Caption shows 1905 but printing date is February 11, 1908. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  • Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Gray. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1959. .

External links