Military leadership in the American Civil War

Military leadership in the American Civil War was vested in both the political and the military structures of the belligerent powers. The overall military leadership of the United States during the Civil War was ultimately vested in the President of the United States as constitutional commander-in-chief, and in the political heads of the military departments he appointed. Most of the major Union wartime commanders had, however, previous regular army experience. A smaller number of military leaders originated from the United States Volunteers. Some of them derived from nations other than the United States.

In the Southern Confederacy, the constitutional commander-in-chief was educated at

West Point and had served in the Mexican War. Many officers in the United States Army, most of them educated at West Point at the expense of the United States, and having taken an oath of allegiance

to the same, joined the rebellion against it. Several significant Confederate military leaders emerged from state unit commands. Some military leaders derived from countries other than the United States.

The United States (The Union)

Henry W. Halleck

William T. Sherman

George G. Meade

George H. Thomas

Philip H. Sheridan

Winfield S. Hancock

Civilian military leaders

Assistant Secretary of War. Gideon Welles was Secretary of the Navy, aided by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox.^[2]

Title		Tenure	Notes
Commander-in-Chief	Abraham Lincoln	March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865 (1,464 days during the war)	assassinated April 14, 1865; died April 15, 1865
Commander-in-Chief	Andrew Johnson	April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 (24 days during the war)	Declared the armed conflict to be "virtually" ended on May 9, 1865^[3]
Secretary of War	Simon Cameron	March 5, 1861 – January 14, 1862 (277 days during the war)	resigned January 14, 1862
Secretary of War	Edwin Stanton	January 20, 1862 – May 28, 1867 (1,205 days during the war)	previously U.S. Attorney General
Secretary of Navy	Gideon Welles	March 7, 1861 – March 4, 1869 (1,488 days during the war)

Regular Army officers

When the war began, the American standing army or "Regular army" consisted of only 1080 commissioned officers and 15,000 enlisted men.^[4] Although 142 regular officers became Union generals during the war, most remained "frozen" in their regular units. That stated, most of the major Union wartime commanders had previous regular army experience.^[5] Over the course of the war, the Commanding General of the United States Army was, in order of service, Winfield Scott, George B. McClellan, Henry Halleck, and finally, Ulysses S. Grant.

Commanding Generals, U.S.A.

No.	Name		Tenure	Notes
1		Brevet Lieutenant general Winfield Scott	July 5, 1841 – November 1, 1861	retired November 1, 1861
2		George McClellan	November 1, 1861 – March 11, 1862	Commanded the Army of the Potomac in addition to serving as Commanding General. Relieved of duty as Commanding General on March 11, 1862.
3	vacant		March 11, 1862 – July 23, 1862	responsibilities of Commanding General fulfilled by President Lincoln
4		Major general Henry Halleck	July 23, 1862 – March 9, 1864	Appointed Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters in Washington DC on March 12, 1864^[6]
5		General Ulysses S. Grant	March 9, 1864 – March 4, 1869	first full rank General in the U.S. Army

Militia and political leaders appointed to Union military leadership

Under the

United States Constitution, each state recruited, trained, equipped, and maintained local militia; regimental officers were appointed and promoted by state governors. After states answered Lincoln's April 15, 1861, ninety-day call for 75,000 volunteer soldiers, most Union states' regiments and batteries became known as United States Volunteers to distinguish between state-raised forces and regular army units. Union brigade-level officers (generals) could receive two different types of Federal commissions: U.S. Army or U.S. Volunteers (ex: Major General, U.S.A. as opposed to Major General, U.S.V.). While most Civil War generals held volunteer or brevet rank, many generals held both types of commission; regular rank was considered superior.^[7]

Edward D. Baker

Nathaniel Prentice Banks

Francis Preston Blair, Jr.

Benjamin Franklin Butler

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Jacob Dolson Cox
John Adams Dix
John C. Frémont
Nathan Kimball
John A. Logan
John Alexander McClernand
Daniel Sickles
James B. Steedman
Alfred Terry
Lew Wallace

Native American and international officers in Union Army

Reflecting the multi-national makeup of the soldiers engaged, some Union military leaders derived from nations other than the United States.

Philippe, Comte de Paris
Michael Corcoran
Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski
Thomas Francis Meagher
Ely Parker
Albin F. Schoepf
Carl Schurz
Franz Sigel
Régis de Trobriand
Ivan Turchaninov
August Willich

Union naval leaders

The rapid rise of the

naval engineers like Benjamin F. Isherwood and John Ericsson, along with four years' daily experience with modern naval conflict put the U. S. Navy onto a path which has led to today's world naval dominance.^[8]

Commanding Officer, U.S.N.

No.	Name		Tenure	Notes
-		Charles Stewart	March 2, 1859 – December 21, 1861	Served as "Senior Flag Officer, U.S.N." until his retirement on 21 December 1861; promoted Rear Admiral on the Retired list July 16, 1862
1		Vice Admiral David Farragut	December 21, 1861 – August 14, 1870	Commanded the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in addition to serving as Commanding Officer. Promoted full Admiral on July 25, 1866

The Confederate States

Civilian military leaders

Leroy Pope Walker, Judah P. Benjamin, George W. Randolph, James Seddon, and John C. Breckinridge. Stephen Mallory was Confederate Secretary of the Navy throughout the conflict.^[9]

Title		Tenure	Notes
Commander-in-Chief	Jefferson Davis	February 18, 1861 – May 5, 1865
Vice President	Alexander H. Stephens	February 11, 1861 – May 11, 1865
Secretary of War	LeRoy Pope Walker	February 25, 1861 – September 16, 1861	resigned September 16, 1861
	Judah P. Benjamin	September 17, 1861 – March 24, 1862	resigned March 24, 1862, to take appointment as CS Secretary of State
	George W. Randolph	March 24, 1862 – November 15, 1862	resigned November 15, 1862, due to health reasons
	James Seddon	November 21, 1862 – February 5, 1865	resigned February 5, 1865
	Major General John C. Breckinridge	February 6, 1865 – May 10, 1865
Secretary of Navy	Stephen Mallory	March 4, 1861 – May 2, 1865

Former Regular Army officers

In the wake of secession, many regular officers felt they could not betray loyalty to their home state, and as a result some 313 of those officers resigned their commission and in many cases took up arms for the Confederate Army. Himself a graduate of West Point and a former regular officer, Confederate President Jefferson Davis highly prized these valuable recruits to the cause and saw that former regular officers were given positions of authority and responsibility.^[10]

Militia and political leaders appointed to Confederate military leadership

The land of Davy Crockett and Andrew Jackson, the state military tradition was especially strong in southern states, some of which were until recently frontier areas. Several significant Confederate military leaders emerged from state unit commands.

Native American and international officers in Confederate army

While no foreign power sent troops or commanders directly to assist the Confederate States, some leaders derived from countries other than the United States.

Confederate naval leaders

The Confederate Navy possessed no extensive

Blockade runners were built and operated by British naval interests, although by late in the war the C.S. Navy operated some. A few new vessels were built or purchased in Britain, notably the CSS Shenandoah and the CSS Alabama. These warships acted as raiders, wreaking havoc with commercial shipping. Aggrieved by these losses, in 1871 the U.S. government was awarded damages from Great Britain in the Alabama Claims.^[8]