Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

(3rd Flag of the Confederacy) (Confederate Seal)
Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: With God As Our Vindicator)
Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (popular) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular)
Capital	Montgomery, Alabama (February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865) Danville, Virginia April 3–April 10, 1865)
Largest city	New Orleans (February 4, 1861–May 1, 1862) (captured) Richmond April 3, 1865–surrender
Official language	English de facto nationwide French and Native American languages regionally
Government President Vice President	Federal republic Jefferson Davis (D) Alexander Stephens (D)
Area  - Total  - % water	(excl. MO & KY) 1,995,392 km² 5.7%
Population  - 1860 Census  - Density	(excl. MO & KY) 9,103,332 (including 3,521,110 slaves)
Independence   - Declared   - Recognized   - Recognition   - Dissolution	see Civil War February 4, 1861 by Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on July 30, 1861 June 23, 1865
Currency	CSA dollar (only notes issued)

The Confederate States of America (also referred to as the Confederate States, CSA, and the Confederacy) was a self-proclaimed independent state that existed from 1861 to 1865 in North America, comprising 11 slave states that seceded [1] from the United States of America, primarily because of fears that "states rights" would eventually be overwhelmed and slavery would be threatened. The territory of the CSA consisted of most of the southeastern portion of today's United States.

The United States ("Union") refused to recognize the Confederacy or negotiate its independence. The American Civil War broke out when Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered an assault on an American fortress in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1861. All but two major battles took place in Confederate territory, as the South was slowly overwhelmed by the much larger Union, and choked by a naval blockade. When Robert E. Lee and the other Confederate generals surrendered their armies in spring 1865, the Confederacy vanished, the slaves were freed, and a difficult process of Reconstruction re-united the nation.

History

Secession process Dec 1860-May 1861

Seven states seceded by March 1861:

• South Carolina (December 20 1860),
• Mississippi (January 9 1861),
• Florida (January 10 1861),
• Alabama (January 11 1861),
• Georgia (January 19 1861),
• Louisiana (January 26 1861),
• Texas (February 1 1861).

After Lincoln called for troops four more states seceded:

• Virginia (April 17 1861),
• Arkansas (May 6 1861),
• Tennessee (May 7 1861).
• North Carolina (May 20 1861)

Following Abraham Lincoln's election as President of the United States in 1860 on a platform that opposed the extension of slavery, seven slave southern states chose to secede from the United States and declared that the Confederate States of America was formed on February 4, 1861; Jefferson Davis was selected as its first President the next day.

Texas joined the Confederate States of America on March 2 and then replaced its governor, Sam Houston, when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America. These seven states seceded¹ from the United States and took control of military/naval installations, ports, and custom houses within their boundaries, triggering the American Civil War.

A month after the Confederate States of America was formed, on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President of the United States. In his inaugural address, he argued that the Constitution was a more perfect union than the earlier Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, that it was a binding contract, and called the secession "legally void". The legal issue of whether or not the Constitution was a binding contract has rarely been addressed by academics, and to this day is a hotly debated concept. He stated he had no intent to invade Southern states, but would use force to maintain possession of federal property and collection of various federal taxes, duties and imposts. His speech closed with a plea for restoration of the bonds of union.

On April 12, South Carolina troops fired upon the federal troops stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, until the troops surrendered. Following the Battle of Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for all remaining states in the Union to send troops to recapture Sumter and other forts, defend the capital (Washington, D.C.), and preserve the Union. Most Northerners believed that a quick victory for the Union would crush the rebellion, and so Lincoln only called for volunteers for 90 days of duty. Lincoln's call for troops resulted in four more states voting to secede. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina joined the Confederacy for a total of 11. Once Virginia joined the Confederate States, the Confederate capital was moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia.

Kentucky was a border state during the American Civil War and, for a time, had two state governments, one supporting the Confederacy and one supporting the Union. The original government of Kentucky remained in the Union after a short-lived attempt at neutrality, but a rival faction from that state was accepted as a member of the Confederate States of America. A more complex situation surrounds the Missouri Secession, but, in any event, Missouri was also considered a member of the Confederate States of America. With Kentucky and Missouri, the number of Confederate states is thus sometimes considered to be 13.

The five tribal governments of the Indian Territory—which became Oklahoma in 1907—also mainly supported the Confederacy.

File:Confederate penny.jpg

Confederate coin.

The southern part of New Mexico Territory (including parts of the Gadsden Purchase) joined with the Confederacy as Arizona Territory. Settlers there petitioned the Confederate government for annexation of their lands, prompting an expedition in which territory south of the 34th parallel (which roughly divides the current state in half) was governed by the Confederacy.

Preceding his New Mexico Campaign, General Sibley proclaimed to the people of New Mexico his intent to take possession of the territory in the name of the Confederate States of America. Confederate States troops briefly occupied the territorial capital of Santa Fe between March 13 and April 8, 1862. Arizona troops were also officially recognized within the armies of the Confederacy.

Not all jurisdictions where slavery was still legal joined the Confederate States of America. In 1861, martial law was declared in Maryland (the state which borders the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C., on three sides) to block attempts at secession. Delaware, also a slave state, never considered secession, nor did the capital of the U.S., Washington, D.C.. In 1861, during the war, a unionist rump legislature in Wheeling, Virginia seceded from Virginia, claiming 48 counties, and joined the United States in 1863 as the state of West Virginia, with a constitution that would have gradually abolished slavery. Similar attempts to secede from the Confederate States of America in parts of other states (notably in eastern Tennessee) were held in check by Confederate declarations of martial law[1][2].

The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by General Lee at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 is generally taken as the end of the Confederate States. President Davis was captured at Irwinville, Georgia on May 10 and the remaining Confederate armies surrendered by June 1865. The last Confederate flag was hauled down, on CSS Shenandoah on November 6, 1865.

Government and politics

Constitution

File:Davis4-2.png

Jefferson Davis
President (1861-1865)

The Confederate States Constitution provides much insight into the motivations for secession from the Union. Based to a certain extent on both the Articles of Confederation and on the United States Constitution, it reflected a stronger philosophy of states' rights, curtailing the power of the central authority, and also contained explicit protection of the institution of slavery, though international slave trading was prohibited. It differed from the US Constitution chiefly by addressing the grievances of the secessionist states against the federal government of the United States. For example, the Confederate government was prohibited from instituting protective tariffs, making southern ports more attractive to international traders. Most southerners regarded protective tariffs as a measure that enriched the northern states at the expense of the South. The Confederate government was also prohibited from using revenues collected in one state for funding internal improvements in another state. One of the most notable differences in the Confederate Constitution is its reference to God. While the original United States Constitution acknowledged the people of the United States as the government's source of power, the Confederacy invoked the name of "Almighty God" as their source of legitimacy. At the same time, however, much of the Confederate constitution was a word-for-word duplicate of the US one.

At the drafting of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, a few radical proposals such as allowing only slave states to join and the reinstatement of the Atlantic slave trade were turned down. The Constitution specifically did not include a provision allowing states to secede, since the southerners considered this to be a right intrinsic to a sovereign state which the United States Constitution had not required them to renounce, and thus including it as such would have weakened their original argument for secession.

The President of the Confederate States of America was to be elected to a six-year term and could not be reelected. The only president was Jefferson Davis; the Confederate States of America was defeated by the federal government before he completed his term. One unique power granted to the Confederate president was the ability to subject a bill to a line item veto, a power held by some state governors. The Confederate Congress could overturn either the general or the line item vetoes with the same two thirds majorities that are required in the US Congress.

Printed currency in the forms of bills and stamps was authorized and put into circulation, although by the individual states in the Confederacy's name. The government considered issuing Confederate coinage. Plans, dies and 4 "proofs" were created, but a lack of bullion prevented any public coinage.

Although the preamble refers to "each State acting in its sovereign and independent character", it also refers to the formation of a "permanent federal government". Also, although slavery was protected in the constitution, it also prohibited the importation of new slaves from outside the Confederate States of America (except from slaveholding states or territories of the United States).

Civil liberties

The Confederacy actively used the military to arrest people suspected of loyalty to the United States. They arrested at about the same rate as the U.S.A. did. Neely found 2,700 names of men arrested and estimated the full list was much longer. Neely concludes, "The Confederate citizen was not any freer than the Union citizen—and perhaps no less likely to be arrested by military authorities. In fact, the Confederate citizen may have been in some ways less free than his Northern counterpart. For example, freedom to travel within the Confederate states was severely limited by a domestic passport system." [Neely 11, 16]

Capital

Virginia State House
Served as Confederate Capitol

The capital of the Confederate States of America was Montgomery, Alabama from February 4 1861 until May 29 1861. Richmond, Virginia was named the new capital on May 6 1861. Shortly before the end of the war, the Confederate government evacuated Richmond, planning to relocate further south. Little came of these plans before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. Danville, Virginia served as the last capital of the Confederate States of America, from April 3 to April 10 1865.

International diplomacy and legal status

The legal status of the Confederate Government was a subject of extensive debate throughout its existence and for many years after the war. During its existence, the Confederate government conducted negotiations with several European powers (including France and the United Kingdom). Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, ruler of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the brother-in-law of Queen Victoria, appointed Ernst Raven as consul to the Confederate government in 1861. Raven was granted diplomatic exequatur on July 30 1861. [3] There is a question under international law whether this act amounted to de jure or merely de facto recognition of the Confederate government. The UK considered recognizing the Confederacy during the Trent Affair and began preparations to offer mediation along with France (due to Emperor Napoleon III's project, the Mexican Empire). Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert helped block recognition. Recognition was again considered following the Second Battle of Manassas when the British government were preparing to mediate in the conflict, but both nations backed away after the Battle of Antietam and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

In November 1863 Confederate diplomat A. Dudley Mann secured a meeting with Cardinal Antonelli, the Vatican's Secretary of State, to deliver a letter from Davis to Pope Pius IX. On November 14th Antonelli arranged for a meeting between Mann and the Pope to deliver Davis' address. After a lengthy conversation in which the Pontiff reiterated his opposition to the war, Pius promised Mann "I will write a letter to President Davis, and of such a character that it may be published for general perusal."[4] A few days later Mann received the promised letter, which was addressed "to the Illustrious and Honorable Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America.” Mann, in his dispatch to Richmond, interpreted the letter as "a positive recognition of our Government" and some have viewed it as a de facto recognition of the C.S.A. Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin interpreted it as "a mere inferential recognition, unconnected with political action or the regular establishment of diplomatic relations" and thus did not assign it the weight of formal recognition.[5] The letter nonetheless prompted protests from the United States. On November 21st Antonelli offered Mann his protection against the complaint while he remained in Rome.[6]

Though generally regarded as informal, the Confederacy's exchanges with the Vatican were arguably the strongest reception they received from a European power. In response to Pius' 1863 letter, Davis authorized Patrick N. Lynch, the Catholic Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina, to represent him in further communications with the Vatican. Lynch travelled to Rome and remained there until after the war. Antonelli also received Confederate diplomat J.T. Soutter in November 1864.[7]

Throughout the war, most European powers adopted a policy of neutrality, meeting informally with Confederate diplomats but withholding diplomatic recognition. In its place, they applied international law principles that recognized the Northern and Southern sides of the war as belligerents. Canada allowed both Confederate and Union agents to work openly within its borders and some state governments in northern Mexico negotiated regional agreements to cover trade on the Texas border.

For the four years of its existence, the Confederate States of America asserted its independence and appointed dozens of diplomatic agents abroad. The Northern government, by contrast, asserted that the southern states were provinces in rebellion and refused any formal recognition of their status. Telling of this dispute, the Confederate Government responded to the hostilities by formally declaring war on the United States while the Union Government conducted its war efforts under a proclamation of blockade and rebellion by President Lincoln. Mid-war negotiations between the two sides occurred without formal political recognition, though the laws of war governed military relationships.

Four years after the war, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that secession was unconstitutional and legally null. The court's opinion was rendered by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, the former Treasury Secretary under Lincoln. Chase's opinion was immediately attacked by ex-Confederates. Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens penned subsequent legal arguments in favor of secession's legality, most notably Davis' The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.

Confederate flags

• 

  1st National
  "Stars and Bars"

• 

  2nd National
  "Stainless Banner"

• Conf Navy Jack (light blue).svg

  Naval Jack

• Battle flag of the US Confederacy.svg

  Battle Flag
  "Southern Cross"

The official flag of the Confederate States of America, and the one actually called the "Stars and Bars", has seven stars, for the seven states that initially formed the Confederacy. This flag was sometimes hard to distinguish from the Union flag under battle conditions, so the Confederate battle flag, the "Southern Cross", became the one more commonly used in military operations. The Southern Cross has 13 stars, adding the four states that joined the Confederacy after Fort Sumter, and the two divided states of Kentucky and Missouri.

As a result of its depiction in 20th century popular media, the "Southern Cross" is a flag commonly associated with the Confederacy today. The actual "Southern Cross" is a square-shaped flag, but the more commonly seen rectangular flag is actually the flag of the First Tennessee Army, also known as the Naval Jack because it was first used by the Confederate Navy.

The Confederate battle flag is a controversial symbol in contemporary American politics. Many Americans, particularly African Americans, consider it a racist symbol akin to the Nazi swastika because of its link to the slavery in the 19th century. In the 20th century Southern opponents of the Civil Rights Movement, the Klu Klux Klan, American neo-Nazis, and other white supremacists have used the flag as a symbol for their causes. Many southerners, however, see the flag as a symbol of Southern pride and culture. As a result, there have been numerous political fights over the use of the Confederate battle flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events at Southern universities, and on public buildings.

Political leaders of the Confederacy

Executive

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Jefferson Davis	25 February 1861–(10 May)1865
Vice President	Alexander Stephens	25 February 1861–(11 May)1865
Secretary of State	Robert Toombs	25 February 1861–25 July 1861
	Robert M. T. Hunter	25 July 1861–22 February 1862
	William M. Browne (acting)	7 March 1862–18 March 1862
	Judah P. Benjamin	18 March 1862–May 1865
Secretary of the Treasury	Christopher Memminger	25 February 1861–15 June 1864
	George Trenholm	18 July 1864–27 April 1865
	John H. Reagan	27 April 1865–(10 May)1865
Secretary of War	Leroy Pope Walker	25 February 1861–16 September 1861
	Judah P. Benjamin	17 September 1861–24 March 1862
	George W. Randolph	24 March 1862–15 November 1862
	Gustavus Smith (acting)	17 November 1862–20 November 1862
	James Seddon	21 November 1862– 5 February 1865
	John C. Breckinridge	6 February 1865–May 1865
Secretary of the Navy	Stephen Mallory	4 March 1861–(20 May)1865
Postmaster General	John H. Reagan	6 March 1861–(10 May)1865
Attorney General	Judah P. Benjamin	25 February 1861–17 September 1861
	Wade Keyes (acting)	17 September 1861–21 November 1861
	Thomas Bragg	21 November 1861–18 March 1862
	Thomas H. Watts	18 March 1862– 1 October 1863
	Wade Keyes (acting 2nd time)	1 October 1863–4 January 1864
	George Davis	4 January 1864–24 April 1865

Legislative

The legislative branch of the Confederate States of America was the Confederate Congress. Like the United States Congress, the Confederate Congress consisted of two houses: the Confederate Senate, whose membership included two senators from each state (and chosen by the state legislature), and the Confederate House of Representatives, with members popularly elected by residents of the individual states. Speakers of the Provisional Congress

• Robert Woodward Barnwell of South Carolina - February 4 1861
• Howell Cobb, Sr. of Georgia - February 4 1861-February 17 1862
• Thomas Stanhope Bocock of Virginia - February 18, 1862-March 18, 1865

Presidents pro tempore

• Howell Cobb, Sr. of Georgia
• Robert Woodward Barnwell of South Carolina
• Josiah Abigail Patterson Campbell of Mississippi
• Thomas Stanhope Bocock of Virginia

Tribal Representatives to Confederate Congress

• Elias Cornelius Boudinot 1862-65 - Cherokee
• Burton Allen Holder 1864-1865 Chickasaw
• Robert McDonald Jones 1863-65 - Choctaw

Sessions of the Confederate Congress

• Provisional Confederate Congress
• First Confederate Congress
• Second Confederate Congress

Judicial

A Judicial branch of the government was outlined in the C.S. Constitution but the would-be "Supreme Court of the Confederate States" was never created or seated because of the ongoing war.[8] Some Confederate district courts were, however, established within some of the individual states of the Confederate States of America; namely, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia (and possibly others). At the end of the war, U.S. district courts resumed jurisdiction.[9]

The state and local courts generally continued to operate as they had been, simply recognizing the CSA, rather than the USA, as the national government.[10]

Supreme Court - not established

District Court

• Asa Biggs 1861-1865
• John White Brockenbrough 1861
• Alexander Mosby Clayton 1861
• Jesse J. Finley 1861-1862

Geography

Map of the states and territories claimed by the Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America had a total of 2,919 miles (4,698 kilometers) of coastline. A large portion of its territory lay on the sea coast, and with level and sandy ground. The interior portions were hilly and mountainous and the far western territories were deserts. The lower reaches of the Mississippi River bisected the country, with the western half often referred to as the Trans-Mississippi. The highest point (excluding Arizona and New Mexico) was Guadalupe Peak in Texas at 8,750 feet (2,667 meters).

Subtropical climate

Most of the area of the Confederate States of America had a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. The climate varied to semiarid steppe and arid desert west of longitude 96 degrees west. The subtropical climate made winters mild but allowed infectious diseases to flourish. They killed more soldiers than did combat.

River system

In peacetime the vast system of navigable rivers was a major advantage, allowing for cheap and easy transportation of farm products. The railroad system was built as a supplement, tying plantation areas to the nearest river or seaport. The vast geography made for difficult Union logistics and large numbers of soldiers to garrison captured areas and protect rail lines. But the Union navy seized most of the navigable rivers by 1862, making its logistics easy and Confederate movements very difficult. After the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863, it became impossible for units to cross the Mississippi as Union gunboats constantly patrolled. The South thus lost use of its western regions.

Rail network

The rail network was built for short hauls, not the long-distance movement of soldiers or goods, which was to be its role in the war. Some idea of the severe internal logistics problems the Confederacy faced can be seen by tracing Jefferson Davis's journey from Mississippi to neighboring Alabama when he was chosen president in early 1861. From his plantation on the river he took a steamboat down the Mississippi to Vicksburg, boarded a train to Jackson, where he took another train north to Grand Junction, Tennessee, then a third train east to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a fourth train south to Atlanta, Georgia. Yet another train took Davis south to the Alabama border, where a final train took him west to Montgomery, his temporary national capital. As the war proceeded the Federals seized the Mississippi, burned trestles and railroad bridges, and tore up track; the frail Confederate railroad system faltered and virtually collapsed for want of repairs and replacement parts. In May 1861 the Confederate government abandoned Montgomery before the sickly season began, and relocated in Richmond. Virginia.

Rural nation

The Confederate States of America were not urbanized. The typical county seat had a population of less than a thousand, and cities were rare. Only New Orleans was in the list of top 10 U.S. cities in the 1860 census. Only 15 southern cities ranked among the top 100 US cities in 1860, most of them ports whose economic activities were shut down by the Union blockade. The population of Richmond swelled after it became the national capital, reaching an estimated 128,000 in 1864.^{[citation needed]}

#	City	1860 Population	US Rank
1.	New Orleans, Louisiana	168,675	6
2.	Charleston, South Carolina	40,522	22
3.	Richmond, Virginia	37,910	25
4.	Mobile, Alabama	29,258	27
5.	Memphis, Tennessee	22,623	38
6.	Savannah, Georgia	22,292	41
7.	Petersburg, Virginia	18,266	50
8.	Nashville, Tennessee	16,988	54
9.	Norfolk, Virginia	14,620	61
10.	Wheeling, Virginia	14,083	63
11.	Alexandria, Virginia	12,652	74
12.	Augusta, Georgia	12,493	77
13.	Columbus, Georgia	9,621	97
14.	Atlanta, Georgia	9,554	99
15.	Wilmington, North Carolina	9,553	100

Economy

The Confederacy had an agrarian-based economy that relied heavily on slave-run plantations with exports to a world market of cotton, and to a lesser extent tobacco and sugar cane. Local food production included grains, hogs, cattle, and gardens. The 11 states produced only $155 million in manufactured goods in 1860, chiefly from local grist mills, together with lumber, processed tobacco, cotton goods and naval stores such as turpentine. The CSA adopted a low tariff of 10%, but imposed them on all imports from the United States. The tariff mattered little; the Confederacy's ports were shut to all commercial traffic by the Union blockade, and very few people paid taxes on goods smuggled from the U.S. The lack of adequate financial resources led the Confederacy to finance the war through printing money, which in turn led to high inflation.

Armed forces

Navy Jack of the CSA

The military armed forces of the Confederacy comprised the following three branches:

• Confederate States Army
• Confederate States Navy
• Confederate States Marine Corps

The Confederate military leadership included many veterans from the United States Army and U.S. Navy who had resigned their Federal commissions and had been appointed to senior positions in the Confederate armed forces. Many had served in the Mexican War (such as Jefferson Davis), but others had little or no military experience (such as Leonidas Polk, who attended West Point but did not graduate.) The Confederate officer corps was composed in part of young men from slave-owning families, but many came from non-owners. The Confederacy appointed junior and field grade officers by election from the enlisted ranks. Although no Army service academy was established for the Confederacy, many colleges of the south (such as the The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute) maintained cadet corps that were seen as a training ground for Confederate military leadership. A naval academy was established in 1863, but no midshipmen had graduated by the time the Confederacy collapsed.

The rank and file of the Confederate armed forces consisted of white males with an average age between 16 and 28. The Confederacy adopted conscription in 1862, but opposition was widespread. Depleted by casualties and desertions, the military suffered chronic manpower shortages. Towards the end of the Civil War, boys as young as 12 were fighting in combat roles and the Confederacy began an all-black regiment with measures underway to offer freedom to slaves who voluntarily served in the Confederate military.

Military leaders of the Confederacy

Military leaders of the Confederacy (with their state of birth and highest rank) included:

File:Lee220.jpg

General Robert E. Lee, for many, the face of the Confederate army

• Robert E. Lee (Virginia) - General and General-in-Chief (1865)
• Albert Sidney Johnston (Kentucky) - General
• Joseph E. Johnston (Virginia) - General
• Braxton Bragg (North Carolina) - General
• Tyree H. Bell (Tennessee) - Brigadier General (Served under Forrest)
• P.G.T. Beauregard (Louisiana) - General
• Richard Stoddert Ewell (Virginia) - Lieutenant General
• Samuel Cooper (New Jersey) - General (Adjutant General and highest ranking general in the Army)
• James Longstreet (South Carolina) - Lieutenant General
• Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (Virginia) - Lieutenant General
• John Hunt Morgan (Kentucky) - Brigadier General
• A.P. Hill (Virginia) - Lieutenant General
• John Bell Hood (Texas) - Lieutenant General
• Wade Hampton III (South Carolina) - Lieutenant General
• Nathan Bedford Forrest (Tennessee) - Lieutenant General
• J.E.B. Stuart (Virginia) - Major General
• Edward Porter Alexander (Georgia) - Brigadier General
• Franklin Buchanan (Maryland) - Admiral
• Raphael Semmes (Maryland) - Rear Admiral
• French Forrest (Maryland) - Acting Assistant Secretary of the Confederate Navy
• Josiah Tattnall (Georgia) - Commodore
• Stand Watie (Indian Territory, now Oklahoma) - Brigadier General (last to surrender)
• Leonidas Polk (North Carolina) - Bishop & Lieutenant General
• Jubal Anderson Early (Virginia) - Lieutenant General
• Richard Taylor (Kentucky) - Lieutenant General (Son of US-President Zachary Taylor)

Significant dates

State	Flag	Secession ordinance	Admitted C.S.A.	U.S. Congress representation restored	Local rule re-established
South Carolina	Template:Country data USA-SC	December 20, 1860	February 4, 1861	July 9, 1868	November 28, 1876
Mississippi	Template:Country data USA-MS	January 9, 1861	February 4, 1861	February 23, 1870	January 4, 1876
Florida	Template:Country data USA-FL	January 10, 1861	February 10, 1861	June 25, 1868	January 2, 1877
Alabama	Template:Country data USA-AL	January 11, 1861	February 18, 1861	July 14, 1868	November 16, 1874
Georgia	Template:Country data USA-GA	January 19, 1861	February 4, 1861	July 15, 1870	November 1, 1871
Louisiana	Template:Country data USA-LA	January 26, 1861	February 4, 1861	July 4, 1868	January 2, 1877
Texas	Template:Country data USA-TX	February 1, 1861	March 2, 1861	March 30, 1870	January 14, 1873
Virginia	Template:Country data USA-VA	April 17, 1861	May 7, 1861	January 26, 1870	October 5, 1869
Arkansas	Template:Country data USA-AR	May 6, 1861	May 18, 1861	June 22, 1868	November 10, 1874
North Carolina	Template:Country data USA-NC	May 20, 1861	May 16, 1861	July 4, 1868	February 2, 1871
Tennessee	Template:Country data USA-TN	June 8, 1861	May 16, 1861	July 24, 1866	October 4, 1869
Missouri (legally elected government)	Template:Country data USA-MO	October 30, 1861	October 31, 1861	n/a	n/a
Kentucky (Russellville government)	Template:Country data USA-KY	November 20, 1861	December 10, 1861	n/a	n/a
Arizona (Mesilla government)	Template:Country data USA-AZ	March 28, 1861	February 14, 1862	n/a	Battle of Glorieta Pass March 28 1862

NOTE: According to the New York Public Library Desk Reference, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina were all readmitted June 25, 1868, and Georgia was readmitted a second time on July 15, 1870.

See also

• Origins of the American Civil War
• Southern United States
• History of the Southern United States
• Flags of the Confederate States of America
• Seal of the Confederate States of America
• Confederate States of America dollar
• Military history of the Confederate States
• Stamps and postal history of the Confederate States
• League of the South

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.

Further reading

• Richard N. Current, ed. Encyclopedia of the Confederacy (4 vol 1993), 1900 pp; articles by scholars
• Faust, Patricia L. ed, Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War (1986)
• David S. Heidler et al. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War : A Political, Social, and Military History (2002), 2400 pages (ISBN 039304758X)
• Steven E. Woodworth, ed. The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research (1996) 750 pages of historiography and bibliography

Economic & Social History

• Ball Douglas B. Financial Failure and Confederate Defeat.1991.
• Robert C. Black III, The Railroads of the Confederacy (1998)
• Clinton Catherine, and Nina Silber, eds. Divided Houses: Gender and the Civil War 1992.
• Drew Gilpin Faust, Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996)
• Drew Gilpin Faust, The Creation of Confederate Nationalism: Ideology and Identity in the Civil War South. 1988.
• Mark Grimsley. The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865 1995.
• Perry Carlton Lentz, Our Missing Epic: A Study in the Novels about the American Civil War (1970)
• Mary Elizabeth Massey. Bonnet Brigades: American Women and the Civil War. 1966.
• Mary Elizabeth Massey. Ersatz in the Confederacy 1952.
• Mary Elizabeth Massey. Refugee Life in the Confederacy 1964.
• Rable George C. Civil Wars: Women and the Crisis of Southern Nationalism 1989.
• Ramsdell Charles. Behind the Lines in the Southern Confederacy. 1944.
• Roark James L. Masters without Slaves: Southern Planters in the Civil War and Reconstruction 1977.
• Anne Sarah Rubin, A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861-1868 (2005), a cultural study of Confederates' self images.
• James L. Sellers, "The Economic Incidence of the Civil War in the South." Mississippi Valley Historical Review 14 (1927): 179-191. in JSTOR
• Emory M. Thomas, The Confederacy as a Revolutionary Experience. 1992.
• Peter Wallenstein . "Rich Man's War, Rich Man's Fight: Civil War and the Transformation of Public Finance in Georgia." Journal of Southern History 50 (1984): 15-43. in JSTOR
• Bell Irwin Wiley. Confederate Women 1975.
• Bell Irwin Wiley. The Plain People of the Confederacy 1944.
• C. Vann Woodward , ed. Mary Chesnut's Civil War 1981.

Politics

• Alexander Thomas B., and Richard E. Beringer. The Anatomy of the Confederate Congress: A Study of the Influences of Member Characteristics on Legislative Voting Behavior, 1861-1865 1972.
• Gabor S. Boritt, et al, Why the Confederacy Lost (1992)
• William J. Cooper, Jefferson Davis, American (2000), standard biography
• E. Merton Coulter . The Confederate States of America, 1861-1865. 1950.
• William C. Davis (2003). Look Away! A History of the Confederate States of America. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-684-86585-8. 
• Clement Eaton . A History of the Southern Confederacy 1954.
• H. J. Eckenrode, Jefferson Davis: President of the South (1923)
• Gary W. Gallagher, The Confederate War (1999)
• Mark E. Neely Jr., Confederate Bastille: Jefferson Davis and Civil Liberties (1993)
• Rembert W. Patrick. Jefferson Davis and His Cabinet.1944.
• George C. Rable, The Confederate Republic: A Revolution against Politics (1994)
• Charles P. Roland. The Confederacy 1960. brief
• Emory M. Thomas, Confederate Nation: 1861-1865 (1979) standard political-economic-social history
• Wilfred Buck Yearns, The Confederate Congress (1960)
• Jon L. Wakelyn: Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy Greenwood Press ISBN 0-8371-6124-X

Primary sources

• Jefferson Davis, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government - Vol. 1 (1881)
• Richard B. Harwell, The Confederate Reader (1957)
• Jones John B. A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital. Edited by Howard Swiggert. 1935. 2 vols. (1993)
• W. Buck Yearns and John G. Barret,eds. North Carolina Civil War Documentary (1980)
• Jon L. Wakelyn, ed. Southern Pamphlets on Secession, November 1860-April 1861 (1996)
• online publications from Confederacy 400 maps, books, pamphlets, plus manuscripts
• A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, Including the Diplomatic Correspondence 1861-1865. 2 vols. Compiled and edited by James D. Richardson. (1906)

External links

• Confederate offices Index of Politicians by Office Held or Sought
• Civil War Research & Discussion Group - Fields Of Conflict - Containing 1000+ Links And 350+ Articles.
• Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union, 1860, South Carolina's Declaration of Independence
• An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Luxuries, or of Articles not Necessary or of Common Use, 1864, a Confederate Congress document
• Confederate States of Am. Army and Navy Uniforms, 1861
• The Countryman, 1862-1866, published weekly by Turnwold, Ga., edited by J.A. Turner
• The Federal and the Confederate Constitution Compared
• The Making of the Confederate Constitution, by A. L. Hull, 1905.
• Official Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Louisiana, November, 1861
• Photographic History of the Civil War, 10 vols., 1912.
• Preventing Diplomatic Recognition of the Confederacy
• DocSouth: Documenting the American South - numerous online text, image, and audio collections.
• Confederate States of America: Heads of State: 1861-1865
• The Geographical Reader for the Dixie Children - a Confederacy textbook written in 1863.

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