Confederate army structure [1]
Confederate army structure
by Josh Howard
Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History
https://www.dncr.nc.gov/about-us/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program [2]
See also: Civil War [3]; Confederate Party; [4]Civil War Rosters [5]; Civil War [6];
Here is an example of the structure of the Confederate army at the onset of the Civil War [3]. The actual figures or numbers of individuals vary wildly at different times and places during the Civil War.
General : Army Commander (60,000-90,000 individuals per army)
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Lieutenant-General : Corps Commander (3 - 4 corps per army with 20,000 - 30,000 individuals per corps)
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Major General : Division Commander (3 - 4 divisions per corps with 9,000 - 12,000 individuals per division)
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Brigadier General : Brigade Commander (3 - 4 brigades per division with 1500 - 3000 individuals per brigade)
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Colonel : Regimental Commander (4 - 5 regiments per brigade with 350 - 1000 per regiment)
Regimental Command structure
Colonel : 1st in command
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Lieutenant Colonel : 2nd in command
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Major : 3rd in command
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Captain (Captains commanded a company. There were 10 companies to a regiment.)
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1st Lieutenant
2nd Lieutenant
(sometimes a 3rd Lieutenant)
Sergeant (5 to a company)
Corporal (5 to a company)
Musician (2 - 4 to a company, drummers, fifers)
Private (90 to a company)
Companies
The ten companies in a regiment were each assigned a letter. The letters were A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K. The letter J was skipped to avoid confusion with I.
Other ranks
Quartermaster : held the same rank as a Captain but was in charge of regimental supply. There was one quartermaster per regiment.
Sergeant major : Senior sergant in the entire regiment. There was one per regiment. Acted as the disciplinarian of the unit.
Surgeon
Assistant Surgeon
Adjutant : Head clerk of the unit. The Colonel's aide.
20 January 2011 | Howard, Joshua