General officers in the Confederate States Army The general officer s of the Confederate States Army ( CSA ) were the senior military leaders of the Confederacy during the American Civil War of 1861 – 1865 . They were often former officers from the United States Army ( the regular army ) prior to the Civil War , while others were given the rank based on merit or when necessity demanded . Most Confederate generals needed confirmation from the Confederate Congress , much like prospective generals in the modern U . S . armed forces . Like all of the Confederacy ' s military forces , these generals answered to their civilian leadership , in particular Jefferson Davis , the South ' s president and therefore commander - in - chief of the Army , Navy , and Marines of the Confederate States . History . Much of the design of the Confederate States Army was based on the structure and customs of the U . S . Army when the Confederate Congress established their War Department on February 21 , 1861 . The Confederate Army was composed of three parts ; the Army of the Confederate States of America ( ACSA , intended to be the permanent , regular army ) , the Provisional Army of the Confederate States ( PACS , or " volunteer " Army , to be disbanded after hostilities ) , and the various Southern state militia s . Graduates from West Point and Mexican War veterans were highly sought after by Jefferson Davis for military service , especially as general officers . Like their Federal counterparts , the Confederate Army had both professional and political general s within it . Ranks throughout the CSA were roughly based on the U . S . Army in design and seniority . On February 27 , 1861 , a general staff for the army was authorized , consisting of four positions : an adjutant general , a quartermaster general , a commissary general , and a surgeon general . Initially the last of these was to be a staff officer only . The post of adjutant general was filled by Samuel Cooper ( the position he had held as a colonel in the U . S . Army from 1852 until resigning ) and he held it throughout the Civil War , as well as the army ' s inspector general . Initially the Confederate Army commissioned only brigadier generals in both the volunteer and regular services ; however , the Confederate Congress quickly passed legislation allowing for the appointment of major generals as well as generals , thus providing clear and distinct seniority over the existing major generals in the various state militias . On May 16 , 1861 , when there were only five officers at the grade of brigadier general , this legislation was passed , which stated in part : As of September 18 , 1862 , when lieutenant generals were authorized , the Confederate Army had four grades of general officers ; they were ( in order of increasing rank ) brigadier general , major general , lieutenant general , and general . As officers were appointed to the various grades of general by Jefferson Davis ( and were confirmed ) , he would create the promotion lists himself . The dates of rank , as well as seniority of officers appointed to the same grade on the same day , were determined by Davis " usually following the guidelines established for the prewar U . S . Army . " Brigadier general . These generals were most often infantry or artillery brigade commanders , aides to other higher ranking generals , and War Department staff officers . By war ' s end the Confederacy had at least 383 different men who held this rank in the PACS , and three in the ACSA : Samuel Cooper , Robert E . Lee , and Joseph E . Johnston . The organization of regiment s into brigades was authorized by the Congress on March 6 , 1861 . Brigadier generals would command them , and these generals were to be nominated by Davis and confirmed by the Confederate Senate . Though close to the Union Army in assignments , Confederate brigadiers mainly commanded brigades while Federal brigadiers sometimes led divisions as well as brigades , particularly in the first years of the war . These generals also often led sub - districts within military departments , with command over soldiers in their sub - district . These generals outranked Confederate Army colonel s , who commonly led infantry regiments . This rank is equivalent to brigadier general in the modern U . S . army . Major general . These generals were most commonly infantry division commanders , aides to other higher ranking generals , and War Department staff officers . They also led the districts that made up military departments , and had command over the troops in their districts . By war ' s end the Confederacy had at least 88 different men who had held this rank , all in the PACS . Divisions were authorized by the Congress on March 6 , 1861 , and major generals would command them . These generals were to be nominated by Davis and confirmed by the Senate . Major generals outranked brigadiers and all other lesser officers . This rank was not synonymous with the Union ' s use of it , as Northern major generals led divisions , corps , and entire armies . This rank is equivalent in most respects to major general in the modern U . S . Army . Major general line command list . " Not further promoted ; top 25 " Lieutenant general . There were 18 lieutenant generals in the Confederate Army , and these general officers were often corps commanders within armies or military department heads , in charge of geographic sections and all soldiers in those boundaries . All of the Confederacy ' s lieutenant generals were in the PACS . The Congress legalized the creation of army corps on September 18 , 1862 , and directed that lieutenant generals lead them . These generals were to be nominated by Davis and confirmed by the Senate . Lieutenant generals outranked major generals and all other lesser officers . This rank was not synonymous with the Federal use of it ; Ulysses S . Grant was one of only two Federal lieutenant generals during the war , the other being Winfield Scott who received a promotion to brevet lieutenant general by a special act of Congress in 1855 . Grant was by the time of his promotion , March 9 , 1864 , the only Federal lieutenant general in active service . Grant became Commander of all the Unions armies , answering only to Abraham Lincoln and was charged with the task of leading the Union armies to victory over the Confederacy . The CSA lieutenant general rank is roughly equivalent to lieutenant general in the modern U . S . Army . The Confederate Congress passed legislation in May 1864 to allow for " temporary " general officers in the PACS , to be appointed by Jefferson Davis and confirmed by the Senate , and given a non - permanent command by Davis . Under this law Davis appointed several officers to fill open positions . Richard H . Anderson was appointed a " temporary " lieutenant general on May 31 , 1864 , and given command of the First Corps ( following the wounding of Lt . Gen . James Longstreet on May 6 in the Wilderness . ) With Longstreet ' s return that October , Anderson reverted to a major general . Jubal Early was appointed a " temporary " lieutenant general on May 31 , 1864 , and given command of the Second Corps ( following the re - assignment of Lt . Gen . Richard S . Ewell to other duties ) and led it until December 1864 , when he too reverted to a major general . Likewise both Stephen D . Lee and Alexander P . Stewart were appointed fill to vacancies in the Western Theater as " temporary " lieutenant generals , and also reverted to their prior grades as major generals as those assignments ended . However , Lee was nominated a second time for lieutenant general on March 11 , 1865 , and was confirmed as such five days later . Lieutenant general line command list . To the right is a picture of the CSA general ' s full uniform , in this case of Brig . Gen . Joseph R . Anderson of the Confederacy ' s Ordnance Department . All of the South ' s generals wore uniforms like this regardless of which grade of general they were , and all with gold colored embroidering . Pay . The general officers of the Confederate Army were paid for their services , and exactly how much ( in Confederate dollars ( CSD ) ) depended on their rank and whether they held a field command or not . On March 6 , 1861 , when the army only contained brigadier generals , their pay was $ 301 CSD monthly , and their aide - de - camp lieutenants would receive an additional $ 35 CSD per month beyond regular pay . As more grades of general officer were added , the pay scale was adjusted . By June 10 , 1864 , a general received $ 500 CSD monthly , plus another $ 500 CSD if they led an army in the field . Also by that date lieutenant generals got $ 450 CSD and major generals $ 350 CSD , and brigadiers would receive $ 50 CSD in addition to regular pay if they served in combat . Legacy . The CSA lost more general officers killed in combat than the Union Army did throughout the war , in the ratio of about 5 - to - 1 for the South compared to roughly 12 - to - 1 in the North . The most famous of whom is General Thomas " Stonewall " Jackson , probably the most well - known Confederate commander after General Robert E . Lee . Jackson ' s death was the result of a friendly fire incident at Chancellorsville on the night of May 2 , 1863 . Replacing these fallen generals was an ongoing problem during the war , often having men promoted beyond their abilities ( a common criticism of officers such as John Bell Hood and George E . Pickett , but an issue for both armies ) , or gravely wounded in combat but needed , such as Richard S . Ewell . The problem was made more difficult by the South ' s depleting manpower , especially near the war ' s end . The last Confederate general in the field , Stand Watie , surrendered on June 23 , 1865 , and the war ' s last surviving general , Edmund Kirby Smith , died on March 28 , 1893 . James Longstreet died on January 2 , 1904 , and was considered " the last of the high command of the Confederacy . " The Confederate Army ' s system of using four grades of general officers is currently the same rank structure used by the U . S . Army ( in use since shortly after the Civil War ) , and is also the system used by the U . S . Marine Corps ( in use since World War II . )