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)
Civilian military leaders
President Abraham Lincoln was Commander-in-Chief of the Union armed forces throughout the conflict; after his April 14, 1865 assassination, Vice President Andrew Johnson became the nation's chief executive.Boatner, pp. 483, 437 Lincoln's first Secretary of War was Simon Cameron; Edwin M. Stanton was confirmed to replace Cameron in January 13, 1862. Thomas A. Scott was Assistant Secretary of War. Gideon Welles was Secretary of the Navy, aided by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox.Boatner, pp. 858, 728, 303
TitleNameTenure NotesCommander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865(1,464 days during the war) assassinated April 14, 1865; died April 15, 1865 Andrew Johnson April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869(24 days during the war) Declared the armed conflict to be "virtually" ended on May 9, 1865Secretary of War Simon Cameron March 5, 1861 – January 14, 1862(277 days during the war) resigned January 14, 1862 Edwin Stanton January 20, 1862 – May 28, 1867(1,205 days during the war) previously U.S. Attorney GeneralSecretary 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.Boatner, pp. 673, 858 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.Boatner, p. 673 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.NameTenureNotes 1 Brevet Lieutenant general Winfield Scott July 5, 1841 – November 1, 1861 retired November 1, 1861 2 Major general 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 colspan=2 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, 1864Eicher p.274 5 General Ulysses S. Grant March 9, 1864 – March 4, 1869 first full rank General in the U.S. Army
Robert Anderson Don Carlos Buell John Buford Ambrose Burnside Edward Canby Philip St. George Cooke Darius N. Couch Thomas Turpin Crittenden Thomas Leonidas Crittenden Samuel Curtis Abner Doubleday William B. Franklin James A. Garfield Quincy Adams Gillmore Gordon Granger David McMurtrie Gregg Henry Wager Halleck Winfield Scott Hancock William B. Hazen Samuel P. Heintzelman Joseph Hooker Oliver O. Howard Andrew A. Humphreys Henry Jackson Hunt David Hunter Philip Kearny Erasmus D. Keyes John McArthur George B. McClellan Alexander McDowell McCook Irvin McDowell James B. McPherson Joseph K. Mansfield George Meade Montgomery C. Meigs Wesley Merritt Dixon S. Miles Edward Ord Alfred Pleasonton John Pope John F. Reynolds William Rosecrans John Schofield Winfield Scott John Sedgwick Philip Sheridan William T. Sherman Henry W. Slocum Andrew Jackson Smith William Farrar Smith George Stoneman Edwin V. Sumner George Sykes George Henry Thomas Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert Gouverneur K. Warren James H. Wilson John E. Wool
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.Boatner, pp. 858, 328
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 United States Navy during the Civil War contributed enormously to the North's ability to effectively blockade ports and Confederate shipping from quite early in the conflict. Handicapped by an aging 90 ship fleet, and despite significant manpower losses to the Confederate Navy after secession, a massive ship construction campaign embracing technological innovations from civil engineer James Buchanan Eads and 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.Boatner, p. 582
Commanding Officer, U.S.N. No.NameTenureNotes - Flag Officer 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
John A. Dahlgren Charles Henry Davis Samuel Francis du Pont David Farragut Andrew Hull Foote Samuel Phillips Lee David Dixon Porter John Ancrum Winslow John Lorimer Worden
The Confederate States (The Confederacy)
Civilian military leaders Jefferson Davis was named provisional president on February 9, 1861, and assumed similar commander-in-chief responsibilities as would Lincoln; on November 6, 1861, Davis was elected President of the Confederate States of America under the Confederate Constitution. Alexander H. Stephens was appointed as Vice President of the Confederate States of America on February 18, 1861, and later assumed identical vice presidential responsibilities as Hannibal Hamlin did. Several men served the Confederacy as Secretary of War, including 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.Boatner, pp. 225, 170
TitleNameTenure NotesCommander-in-Chief Jefferson Davis February 18, 1861 – May 5, 1865 Vice President Alexander H. StephensFebruary 11, 1861 – May 11, 1865Secretary 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, for 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 their 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 recruits to the cause and saw that former regular officers were given positions of authority and responsibility.Boatner, pp. 495, 225, 674
Richard H. Anderson P.G.T. Beauregard Milledge Luke Bonham Braxton Bragg Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. George B. Crittenden Samuel Cooper Jubal Anderson Early Richard S. Ewell Franklin Gardner Robert S. Garnett Josiah Gorgas William Joseph Hardee Ambrose Powell Hill Daniel Harvey Hill John Bell Hood Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson Albert Sidney Johnston Joseph E. Johnston Robert E. Lee Stephen D. Lee Mansfield Lovell James Longstreet John B. Magruder Dabney Herndon Maury John Hunt Morgan John C. Pemberton George Pickett Edmund Kirby Smith Gustavus Woodson Smith J.E.B. Stuart Earl Van Dorn Joseph Wheeler
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.
John C. Breckinridge Benjamin F. Cheatham Nathan Bedford Forrest Wade Hampton James L. Kemper Ben McCulloch Leonidas Polk Sterling Price Alexander P. Stewart Richard Taylor
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.
Patrick Cleburne Stand Watie Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac Raleigh E. Colston Collett Leventhorpe George St. Leger Grenfell Garnet Wolseley
Confederate naval leaders The Confederate Navy possessed no extensive shipbuilding facilities; instead, it relied on refitting captured ships or purchased warships from Great Britain. The South had abundant navigable inland waterways, but after the Union built a vast fleet of gunboats, they soon dominated the Mississippi, Tennessee, Cumberland, Red and other rivers, rendering those waterways almost useless to the Confederacy. Confederates did seize several Union Navy vessels in harbor after secession and converted a few into ironclads, like the CSS Virginia. 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.
John Mercer Brooke Isaac Newton Brown Franklin Buchanan