See also: Civil War; Confederate Party; Civil War Rosters; Civil War;
Here is an example of the structure of the Confederate army at the onset of the Civil War. 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)
|
Lieutenant-General : Corps Commander (3 - 4 corps per army with 20,000 - 30,000 individuals per corps)
|
Major General : Division Commander (3 - 4 divisions per corps with 9,000 - 12,000 individuals per division)
|
Brigadier General : Brigade Commander (3 - 4 brigades per division with 1500 - 3000 individuals per brigade)
|
Colonel : Regimental Commander (4 - 5 regiments per brigade with 350 - 1000 per regiment)
Regimental Command structure
Colonel : 1st in command
|
Lieutenant Colonel : 2nd in command
|
Major : 3rd in command
|
Captain (Captains commanded a company. There were 10 companies to a regiment.)
|
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 sergeant 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.