Confederate States War Department Explained

Agency Name:	Confederate States War Department
Seal:	Seal of the Confederate States of America.svg
Headquarters:	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

The Confederate States War Department was a cabinet-level department in the government of the Confederate States of America responsible for the administration of the affairs of the Confederate States Army. The War Department was led by the Confederate States Secretary of War. During its existence, the War Department was the largest department of the Civil Service in the Confederacy.^[1]

History

The War Department was established by Act No. 26 of the Confederate Provisional Congress on February 26, 1861.

Organization

Key personnel

There were twelve key positions in the War Department of which four were filled by civilians and eight by military personnel; these positions were:^[2]

Secretary of War (civilian)
Adjutant and Inspector General: Gen. Samuel Cooper
Assistant Secretary of War (civilian): Albert Taylor Bledsoe, John Archibald Campbell
Chief of the Bureau of War (civilian): Robert Garlick Hill Kean
Chief of Conscription: Brig. Gen. Gabriel J. Rains, Brig. Gen. Charles W. Field, Brig. Gen. John S. Preston
Chief of Nitre and Mining: Col. Isaac M. St. John, Col. Richard Morton
Chief of Ordnance: Brig. Gen. Josiah Gorgas
Chief Signal Officer: Col. William Norris
Commissary General of Subsistence: Col. Lucius B. Northrop, Brig. Gen. Isaac M. St. John
Quartermaster-General: Col. Abraham C. Myers, Brig. Gen. Alexander Lawton
Surgeon General: Col. Samuel P. Moore
Commissioner of Prisoner Exchange: Col. Robert Ould, Col. William Norris
War Department Commissioner of Indian Affairs (civilian): David Hubbard

Departments and Bureaus

The War Department had several sub-departments in its organization structure:

Adjutant and Inspector-General's Department: Established by an act of the Confederate Congress on 19 April 1862
Bureau of Engineers: Established by an act of the Confederate Congress on March 6, 1861
Bureau of Indian Affairs: Established by two separate acts of the Confederate Provisional Congress on February 21 and March 15, 1861
Bureau of Foreign Supplies: Established by an act of the Confederate Congress on May 17, 1864
Bureau of Conscription: Established on December 30, 1862
Bureau of Prison Camps
Bureau of Prisoner Exchange: Established on July 12, 1862
Commissary Department
Medical Corps
Nitre and Mining Bureau: Established by an act the Confederate Congress on April 11, 1862.^[3] The Niter and Mining Bureau was initially a part of the Bureau of Ordnance, but later became a full independent bureau on April 22, 1862.
Bureau of Ordnance: Established on April 8, 1861 under Article 44 of the Confederate Army Regulations
Quartermaster-General Department: Established by an act of the Confederate Provisional Congress on February 26, 1861^[4]
Signals Bureau: Established by an act of the Confederate Congress on 19 April 1862.^[4] This bureau was attached to the Adjutant General's office.^[4] Edward Porter Alexander was responsible for this corp's establishment.^[5] Although officially established in 1862, Alexander had set about the creation of a signal service and had a signal service operational in time for the First Battle of Manassas, months before any comparable Federal counterpart would emerge.^[5] The Signal Bureau was also involved in the gathering of intelligence during the course of the war.^[5]

Notes and References

"The Confederate Civil Service".(1959).Van Riper, Paul and Schieber, Harry. Journal of Southern History. Southern Historical Association: Houston.
Van Riper and Schieber p. 457
Van Riper and Schieber p. 458
Book: Eicher, John H.. Civil War High Commands. 2001. Stanford University Press. 0-8047-3641-3. 69–73.
Book: Elting, John R.. Signal Corp. 1993. 0-13-276049-5. 1428–1430. Richard N. Current.