Confederate Army Article Index for
Confederate 		Website Links For
Confederate 		 

Information About

Confederate Army
  CATEGORIES ABOUT CONFEDERATE STATES ARMY
   
confederate states army
   
disbanded armies
   
1861 establishments
   
1865 disestablishmentsconfederate states army
   
disbanded armies
   
1861 establishments
   
1865 disestablishments
   
military history of the confederate states of america
   
army, confederate states
   
disbanded armies
   
APPAREL
BABY
BEAUTY
BOOKS
CAR TOYS
CELL PHONES
DVD'S
ELECTRONICS
GOURMET FOOD
GROCERIES
HEALTH & PERSONAL
HOME & GARDEN
JEWELRY
MUSIC
MUSIC INSTRUMENTS
OFFICE PRODUCTS
SOFTWARE
SPORTING GOODS
TOOLS & HARDWARE
TOYS
VIDEO GAMES
SHOPPING HOME
MORE SHOPPING...



The Confederate States Army (CSA) was organized in February 1861 to defend the newly formed Confederate States Of America from military action by the United States government during the American Civil War . As many as 1.4 million men fought in the Army throughout the war. Although it won a significant number of battles (particularly in the Eastern Theater under famed General Robert E. Lee ), a lack of centralized control of the Army and the logistical and manpower advantages of the United States doomed the CSA to eventual failure and the last of its field armies surrendered in May 1865.


ORGANIZATION


The Confederate War Department was established by the Confederate Congress in an act on February 21 , 1861 . The Confederate States Army was actually three organizations:
  • The Army of the Confederate States of America ('''ACSA''') was the regular army, organized by Act of Congress on March 6 , 1861 . It was authorized to include 15,015 men, including 744 officers, but this level was never achieved. The men serving as (full) generals, such as Samuel Cooper and Robert E. Lee , were enrolled in the ACSA to ensure that they outranked all militia officers.

  • The Provisional Army of the Confederate States ('''PACS''') was authorized by act of Congress on February 28 , 1861 , and began organizing on April 27 . Virtually all regular, volunteer, and conscripted men preferred to enter this organization since officers could achieve a higher rank in the Provisional Army than they could in the Regular Army. If the war had ended successfully for them, the Confederates intended that the PACS would be disbanded, leaving only the ACSA.

  • State Militias were organized and commanded by the state governments, similar to those authorized by the United States Militia Act Of 1792 .


Because of poor record-keeping, there is no accurate number that represents the strength of the Confederate States Army. Estimates range from 500,000 to 1,500,000 men who were involved at any time during the war. Reports from the War Department began at the end of 1861 (326,768 men), 1862 (449,439), 1863 (464,646), 1864 (400,787), and "last reports" (358,692). Estimates of enlistments throughout the war were 1,227,890 to 1,406,180.

The following calls for men were issued:

The CSA was initially a (strategically) defensive army, and many soldiers were resentful when Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia in an invasion of the North in the Antietam Campaign . As many as 50,000 men deserted during the start of the campaign, claiming that their enlistments were for defense of their homeland, not invasion. After the losses at Vicksburg and Gettysburg , the number rose to 100,000.


Command

The army did not have a formal overall military commander, or general-in-chief, until late in the war. Confederate President Jefferson Davis , himself a former U.S. Army officer and U.S. Secretary Of War , provided the strategic direction for Confederate land and naval forces. The following men had varying degrees of control:

  • Robert E. Lee was "charged with the conduct of military operations in the armies of the Confederacy" from March 13 to May 31 , 1862 . He was referred to as Davis' military adviser but exercised broad control over the strategic and logistical aspects of the Army, a role similar in nature to the current Chief Of Staff Of The U.S. Army . On June 1 , he assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia, which was considered the most important of all the Confederate field armies.

  • Braxton Bragg was similarly "charged with the conduct of military operations in the armies of the Confederacy" from February 24 , 1864 (after he was relieved of command following the Battle Of Chattanooga ) to January 31 , 1865 . This role was a military advisory position under Davis.

  • Lee was formally designated general-in-chief by an act of Congress ( January 23 , 1865 ) and served in this capacity from January 31 to April 9 , 1865 .


The lack of centralized control was a strategic weakness for the Confederacy, and there are few instances of multiple armies acting in concert across multiple theaters to achieve a common objective. (An exception to this was in late 1862 when Lee's invasion of and Earl Van Dorn 's advance against Corinth, Mississippi . All three initiatives were unsuccessful, however.)


Ranks and insignia