Does anyone know why the Confederate States Quartermaster General was capped at Brigadier General?

atlantis

Sergeant Major
Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Does anyone know why the CS quartermaster general was capped at Brigadier general yet the AG an inspector general S. Cooper was a full general.
 
The Adjutant-General was the professional head of the Confederate States Army (no Commanding General, General-in-Chief or official Chief of Staff yet) and the Confederacy made that clear in rank. Of course initially they had a Brigadier General for that but the holder (Cooper) was made the most senior of the three Brigadiers in their regular army. Meanwhile things might have been different if Cooper, who did double duty as Inspector-General, for some reason hadn´t been the only one on the jobs throughout the war.
 
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The Adjutant-General was the professional head of the Confederate States Army (no Commanding General, General-in-Chief or official Chief of Staff yet) and the Confederacy made that clear in rank. Of course initially they had a Brigadier General for that but the holder (Cooper) was made the most senior of the three Brigadiers in their regular army. Meanwhile things might have been different if Cooper, who did double duty as Inspector-General, for some reason hadn´t been the only one on the jobs throughout the war.
That is something else I find curious why AG and IG posting weren't given to separate officers.
 
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That is something else I find curious why AG and IG posting weren't given to separate officers.

Well, in the combined function he clearly was Chief of Staff in all but name, which was rather true for the U.S. Adjutant General, too. Of course having that and separate posts would seem logical; making decisions easier for empowered officeholders instead of having to shoulder everything himself with his assistants having limited options and authority. But in my opinion laws and regulations, Congress, logic and Jefferson Davis seldomly got on one page.
 
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Well, in the combined function he clearly was Chief of Staff in all but name, which was rather true for the U.S. Adjutant General, too. Of course having that and separate posts would seem logical; making decisions easier for empowered officeholders instead of having to shoulder everything himself with his assistants having limited options and authority. But in my opinion laws and regulations, Congress, logic and Jefferson Davis seldomly got on one page.
But who do you put in those positions.
 
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There is authority given by rank & there is authority given by position. That was particularly true of QM Corps. For example, the position of Army Quartermaster in the Army of the Cumberland was held by a captain. He was, by law, a civilian who could not be promoted. His powers were vast. Generals in command of a Corps who had commandeered rail cars as mobil HQ's were peremptorily evicted & replied with respectful apologies to a captain. The Army Quartermaster captain was not in the A of the C's chain of command, he reported directly to the QM General in Washington.

Inspector Generals, who often are not generals by rank, have great authority given by their positions. Their chain of command is outside that of the units they are inspecting. A colonel I knew well was an inspector general. He messed in the general officer's mess & had other perks associated with that rank while he held the position.

For administrative purposes, a Confederate Brigadier could be a QM general & not be ranked by major generals on active duty. I guess you could say that being christened "The Most Hated Man in the Confederacy" was a sort of rank all its own. Given his competition, that is really saying something.
 
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