Union Navy officer ranks

[Justin B.]

I know the USN ranks in the CW period can be confusing, both because there were some major changes during the war, and because of the separate titles for engineers, surgeons, paymasters etc. Here is a page that attempts to show the navy rank structure in relation to army grades, and a timeline of changes through the war. The table is quite large, but hopefully some may find it useful.

Civil War Army and Navy Ranks

www.uniform-reference.net

 

[Mark Roth]

Very interesting.

By what authority did a Captain with 15 years seniority rank as a Major General? Or one with 10 years as a Brigadier General?

Every source I have seen equates a newly commissioned Captain as a Lt. Colonel but that senior captains ranked with Colonels never reaching higher equivalencies, unless when serving as Flag Officer.

 

[67th Tigers]

The USN went to war with only five grades of Commissioned officer:

Flag officer
Captain
Commander (formerly Master Commandant)
Lieutenant
Master (from 1883, Lt, JG)
---
Passed Midshipman (not Commissioned)

In July 1862 by Act of Congress a new rank structure was established. It allowed only one grade of admiral (RAdm) and created the ranks of Commodore, Lieutenant-Commander and Ensign. Commodores, Captains, Commanders and Lieutenant-Commanders were to command ships, based upon their rating (so a Commodore would command a frigate). The rank of Ensign was to Commission Passed Midshipman and allow them to command in the absence of a Commissioned officer.

The same act defined the Army-Navy equivalencies:

RAdm = MG
Commodore = BG
Captain = Col
Cmdr = Lt Col
Lt Cmdr = Maj
Lt = Capt
Master = Lt
Ensign = 2Lt

Staff officers (surgeons, paymasters etc.) were not included as there was no need of them. In 1863 equivalancies for social purposes etc. were defined, but no staff officer had any power to command outside of his branch in any circumstances whatsoever.

 

[Justin B.]

By what authority did a Captain with 15 years seniority rank as a Major General? Or one with 10 years as a Brigadier General?

Very good question. U.S. Army Regulations of 1825 (Art. 6) and U.S. Navy Regulations of 1841 (Art. 11).

Every source I have seen equates a newly commissioned Captain as a Lt. Colonel but that senior captains ranked with Colonels never reaching higher equivalencies, unless when serving as Flag Officer.

And, understandably, there was confusion on this point during the Mexican war.

 

[Mark Roth]

U.S. Army Regulations of 1825

Well look at that. I have seen enough references to the Civil War rank disputes to wonder how many people were aware of that in '61-62. Especially as such references to relative rank were not spelled out in the 1841 and 1861 regulations. They merely state that naval officers will be saluted at their relative rank.