Some interesting figures and facts gleaned from the introductions of "Generals in Gray" & "Generals in Blue" by Ezra J. Warner (Baton Rouge, LA, 1959 & 1964; these two volumes have short biographies and pictures of all general officers that fought in the war). Interesting, I thought, in the light of the notion occasionally encountered that the majority of the officer corps of the antebellum regular army was of southern origin and hence went south in 1861, leaving the Federal army to be officered by politicians and lawyers while the Confederate army had professional leadership.
- Of the 950 officers of the pre-war army, 395 were from slave states and 555 from free states, approximately in keeping with the population ratio. 239 of those 950, or 25%, resigned to enter Confederate service. 26 of those btw were Northerners. Hence, not only did the North keep three-quarters of the regulars officers, but about as many southern-born officers as resigned did remain in the Federal service.
- The North actually had a slightly higher proportion of professional soldiers among its general officers than the South: 194 out of 583, or 33%, compared to 125 out of 425, or 29%.
- Counting everyone with any military training or military background whatsoever, the picture is about the same: 395 for the North (68% of 583), 272 for the South (64% of 425).
- The picture in fact only changes when one looks at the higher command positions. All eight full generals and 14 out of 17 lieutenant generals of the Confederacy were West Pointers. The South did not appoint civilian politicians to high command positions the way the North did.
Other interesting, but non-related facts:
- 47 Union generals were killed or mortally wounded (8% of those who served), but 77 Confederate generals (18%) - quite a difference in command style, one might say! On the other hand, 110 Federal generals resigned, a full 19%! (19, or 4%, for the South.) (One general on each side committed suicide.)
- The oldest general on either side was born in 1784 and remained in active service until 1863; the youngest was still not old enough to vote when the war ended!
- This is basic stuff of course, but still worth mentioning: the South had four general officer ranks, but no brevets, and no regular army, save six full generals. Hence everybody actually serving as general officer (except those six individuals) was a substantive rank general in the provisional army of the Confederate States. The North had only two general officer ranks (until Grant was made a Lt. Gen.), but a regular and a volunteer army, and awarded brevet ranks, so while a Confederate general had only one rank, a Union general could have, and often had, four: substantive rank in the regular army (usually lowest), brevet rank in the regular army, substantive rank in the volunteer army, and brevet rank in the volunteer army (usually highest). An actual case quoted is a brevet major general of volunteers who was a substantive rank captain in the regular army. [;)]
Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS
West Point Class of '01
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