Bryan Howerton
Confederate Command
Tue Apr 17 16:28:18 2001


After turning down Lincoln's offer to command the Federal armies, and resigning from the U.S. Army, Robert E. Lee first commanded Virginia state troops, then commanded Confederate forces along the South Atlantic coast, before being recalled to Richmond to serve as military advisor to President Davis. On June 1, 1862, he succeeded Joseph E. Johnston as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia (previously known as the Army of the Potomac). He held this command throughout the war with the rank of general, and in February 1865 was appointed General of the Armies of the Confederate States (the modern-day equivalent would be akin to five-star general Omar Bradley, General of the Armies of the United States). Despite the appointment, Lee remained in the field with the Army of Northern Virginia until the surrender at Appomattox two months later.

The overall administration of the army was handled by the Adjutant and Inspector-General of the Army.

Overall strategy -- authorizing campaigns, etc. -- was handled by the very hands-on President Davis, through consultation with the Secretary of War and the generals commanding departments and field armies, and to a much lesser extent with the State Governors. It has been suggested by some historians that this micro-management was one of the causes of the defeat of the Confederacy (I believe I'll stay out of that debate). Within the broad strategic framework worked out by the brass, commanders of field armies had very broad latitude in developing the tactics necessary to achieve strategic goals. The further a general was from the flagpole, the more latitude he had -- viz. Gen. Kirby Smith, who was independent to the point that his Trans-Mississippi Department was sometimes referred to as "Kirby Smithdom".

President Davis did visit the "front" on occasion, especially early in the war.