List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate)
Details concerning Confederate officers who were appointed to duty as generals late in the war by General E. Kirby Smith in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, who have been thought of generals and exercised command as generals but who were not duly appointment and confirmed or commissioned, and State militia generals who had field commands in certain actions in their home states but were never given appointments or commissions in the Confederate States Army are in this list. Not all colonels or lower-ranking officers who exercised brigade or division command at any time are in this list but those most often erroneously referred to as generals are in the list. A few acting or temporary Confederate generals were duly appointed and confirmed as such. The full entries for these officers are in the List of American Civil War generals.
Abbreviations and notes:
- Rank column: conf. = date appointment confirmed by Confederate Senate; nom. = date nominated by Confederate President Jefferson Davis; rank = date of rank.
- USMA = United States Military Academy at West Point, New York; "VMI" refers to the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia.
- Additional notes: ranks: lt. = lieutenant.
Assigned to duty by E. Kirby Smith
Name | Rank | Notes |
Bagby, Arthur Pendleton Jr. | Colonel |
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DeBray, Xavier | Colonel | |
Gordon, Benjamin Franklin | Colonel | |
Jackman, Sidney Drake | Colonel | |
Jones, Alexander C. | Colonel | |
King, Wilburn Hill | Colonel | |
Lewis, Levin Major | Colonel | |
Maclay, Robert Plunket | Major | |
Randal, Horace | Colonel | |
Terrell, Alexander Watkins | Colonel |
Incomplete appointments, unconfirmed appointments, refused appointments, posthumous appointments or undelivered commissions
The following Confederate officers are often referred to in historical writings as generals but their appointments were never completed or confirmed or their commissions were not properly delivered. The appointments of a few were withdrawn before they were voted upon by the Confederate Senate. Some of the officers' appointments were nominated to but not confirmed by the Confederate Senate. Some of the officers' commissions as generals were not delivered until after they had died. In a few cases, promotions of officers to general officer grades were posthumous even as early as the dates of appointment or nomination and clearly were meant only to be tokens of respect or honor. Other general officer commissions remained undelivered when the war ended. At least two general officer appointments that appear in the historical record were unauthorized battlefield appointments which were not approved and confirmed by the civil authorities as the war was coming to a close. Nonetheless, these officers are notable because of their assignments or actions in the capacity of a general, almost always a brigadier general. The Eichers call most or all such officers "might-have-beens." About 24 of the officers in the alphabetical tables above are shown by Warner and Wright as full grade general officers but in fact their appointments, confirmations or commissions were incomplete or they died or the war ended before they received their commissions. The entries for these officers will be moved to the section below as the article is completed.Name | Rank | Notes |
Ashby, Henry Marshall | Colonel |
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Ashby, Turner | ColonelBrigadier General May 23, 1862 unconfirmed at death |
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Barry, John D. | ColonelBrigadier General appointed August 2, 1864 unconfirmed canceled a few days later |
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Bartow, Francis Stebbins | ColonelBrigadier General posthumous |
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Benton, Samuel | ColonelBrigadier General rank: July 26, 1864 died before commission received |
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Bowles, Pinckney Downie | Colonel | |
Brevard, Jr. Theodore W. | ColonelBrigadier General rank: March 22, 1865 nom: March 28, 1865 unconfirmed |
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Browne, William Montague"Constitution" | Colonel Brigadier General temporary rank: from November 11, 1864 unconfirmed: rejected |
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Cobb, Thomas Reade Rootes | ColonelBrigadier General rank: November 1, 1862 unconfirmed: died |
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Dearing, James | ColonelBrigadier General rank: April 29, 1864 not confirmed; continued as brigade commander |
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Deshler, James | ColonelBrigadier General rank: July 28, 1863 not confirmed |
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Dunovant, John | ColonelBrigadier General rank: August 22, 1864 unconfirmed at death |
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Fauntleroy, Thomas Turner | Brigadier General,Provisional Army of Virginia Major Refused brigadier general appointment |
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Fiser, John Calvin | Colonel |
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Frazer, John W. | ColonelBrigadier General nom or appt: May 3, 1863 rank: May 19, 1863 unconfirmed |
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Garrott, Isham Warren | ColonelBrigadier General rank: May 28, 1863 |
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Girardey, Victor J. B. | Brigadier General rank: July 30, 1864 commissioned: August 3, 1864 unconfirmed? |
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Godwin, Archibald C. | ColonelBrigadier General rank: August 5, 1864 unconfirmed |
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Goggin, James M. | MajorBrigadier General rank: December 4, 1864 cancelled unconfirmed |
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Hagan, James | Colonel | |
Hannon, Moses Wright | Colonel | |
Harris, David Bullock | Colonel | |
Hatton, Robert Hopkins | ColonelBrigadier General not confirmed: died |
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Henderson, Robert Johnson | Colonel | |
Hodge, George B. | ColonelBrigadier General nominations rejected paroled as brig. gen. |
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Johnson, Adam Rankin"Stovepipe" | Colonel Brigadier General |
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Jones, John R. | Lt. ColonelBrigadier General |
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Martin, John Donelson | ColonelActing Brigadier General appointed April 29, 1862 |
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Moore, Samuel Preston | ColonelSurgeon General |
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Munford, Thomas Taylor | ColonelAssigned not commissioned/commission never received |
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Northrop, Lucius B. | ColonelBrigadier General rank: November 26, 1864 nomination not sent for Senate confirmation |
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O'Neal, Edward Asbury | ColonelBrigadier General: commission cancelled |
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Pegram, William "Willie" | ColonelActing brigadier general |
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Phifer, Charles W. | MajorActing brigadier general appt: May 25, 1862 canceled: October 16, 1862 |
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Porterfield, George | ColonelActing Brigadier General |
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Rains, James Edwards | ColonelBrigadier General rank, nom: November 4, 1862 not confirmed, died |
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Robertson, Felix Huston | ColonelBrigadier General rank: July 26, 1864 nom: rejected: February 22, 1865 |
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Semmes, Raphael"Beeswax", "Bim" | Rear Admiral, Confederate States Navy Brigadier General appointed April 5, 1865 |
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Taylor, Thomas H. | ColonelBrigadier General unconfirmed |
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Thomas, Bryan Morel | ColonelBrigadier General rank: August 4, 1864 not confirmed |
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Walker, Francis Marion | Colonel''' |
State militia generals
At the beginning of the Civil War, the Union Army incorporated most State militia units from the States adhering to the Union, mainly because they were offered for federal service by their States in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers to put down the rebellion of the Confederate States. If the generals of these units did not receive appointments by the President of the United States and confirmation by the United States Senate and come into federal service with their units, new Union Army generals were appointed and confirmed for the Union Army brigades or divisions in which the units were placed. States often retained or further recruited some militia units for local defense but these units, including any generals, saw little, if any, combat in the Civil War as State units. State militia units remaining under State control did not leave their States for service elsewhere and few battles or lesser actions were fought in the Northern States. The battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg and Monocacy were among the more notable exceptions.The Confederate States Army followed a similar pattern with respect to incorporating volunteer militias but certain States retained a significant number of militia units for local defense. Because most of the battles of the Civil War occurred in Southern States, some of these units, and their State-appointed generals, saw significant service and combat. They were usually brought under the command of Confederate State Army commanders and forces in their areas but on a few occasions were the only forces available to oppose Union forces. State units fought in Texas, in Missouri, especially early in the war, in Virginia, especially during Jackson's Valley Campaign, in Mississippi, especially during the Vicksburg Campaign, in Georgia, especially during Sherman's March to the Sea, and in South Carolina, especially in the Carolinas Campaign.
Authors have not always pointed out that the generals in certain Civil War battles, actions or campaigns were State militia generals, not duly appointed and confirmed Confederate States Army generals. They were fighting for the Confederate cause and may have commanded a large number of troops but they are still properly described only as State militia generals.
Many of the Southern States' militia officers are identified by historian Bruce C. Allardice. Allardice, and others like him who take an expansive view of Confederate general officer appointments, identify many militia officers who were never mustered into national service for the Confederacy, nor did they serve as generals in any campaign or significant battle. The list below does not include those officers. It is limited to those known to have served in the field in command of militia units, on in another significant capacity such as guard duty in an active theater or in temporary command of Confederate Army brigades or divisions.
Below is a list of the more significant State militia generals from the Confederate States. These generals commanded and participated in battles and campaigns, at least in their home states, and thus provided some field service during the war. As such, they are likely to be referred to as Confederate generals in some books, articles or sources, even though they were State militia generals and not duly commissioned Confederate generals.
Name | Rank | Notes |
Alcorn, James Lusk | Brigadier General, Mississippi Militia |
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Anderson, Charles David | Brigadier General, Georgia Militia | |
Boggs, James | Brigadier General, Virginia Militia | |
John T. Hughes | Brigadier General, Missouri Militia | |
Carson, James Harvey | Brigadier General, Virginia Militia | |
Carswell, Reuben Walker | Brigadier General, Georgia Militia | |
Chapman, Augustus A. | Brigadier General, Virginia Militia | |
Chase, William Henry | Major General, Florida Militia | |
Clark, Edward | Brigadier General, Texas Militia Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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Clark, John Bullock | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard | |
Clark, Meriwether Lewis Sr. | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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Dahlgren, Charles G. | Brigadier General, Mississippi Militia | |
de Saussure, Wilmot Gibbes | Brigadier General, South Carolina Militia | |
Ford, John Salmon | Brigadier General, Texas Militia Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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Garlington, Albert Creswell | Brigadier General, South Carolina Militia | |
Greene, Colton | Brigadier General, Missouri State GuardColonel, 3rd Missouri Cavalry Acting brigadier general |
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Harman, William Henry | Brigadier General, Virginia Militia | |
Harper, Kenton | Major General, Virginia Militia | |
Harris, Jeptha Vining | Brigadier General, Mississippi Militia | |
Harrison, Sr., George Paul | Brigadier General, Georgia Militia | |
McBride, James Haggin | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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McCay, Henry Kent | Brigadier General, Georgia Militia | |
Meem, Gilbert Simrall | Brigadier General, Virginia Militia | |
Pearce, Nicholas Bartlett | Brigadier General, Arkansas State Troops Major, Confederate States Army |
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Phillips, Pleasant J. | Brigadier General, Georgia Militia | |
Rains, George W. | Brigadier General, Georgia Militia Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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Smith, Francis Henney | Brevet Brigadier General, Virginia Militia Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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Steen, Alexander E. | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard Colonel, Confederate States Army |
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Thompson, Meriwether Jefferson | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard |
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Watkins, Nathaniel W. | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard |