Cabinet of the Confederate
States of America
The Cabinet of the Confederate States, commonly called the Confederate cabinet or Cabinet of Jefferson Davis, was part of the executive branch of the federal government of the Confederate States between 1861 and 1865. The members of the Cabinet were the vice-president and heads of the federal executive departments.
Cabinet of the United States, with its
members overseeing a State Department, Treasury Department, War Department, and
Post Office Department. However, unlike the Union, the Confederacy lacked a
Department of the Interior, and created a Justice Department (the position of
the U.S. Attorney General existed, but the U.S. Department of Justice was only
created in 1870, after the end of the Civil War).
The Confederate cabinet was ineffective. Like the Confederate Congress, its
membership was undistinguished—a contrast with Lincoln's Cabinet, which included
highly talented men. Confederate President Jefferson Davis made many of his
initial selections to the Cabinet on the basis of political considerations; his
choices "Were dictated by the need to assure the various states that their
interests were being represented in the government." Moreover, most Confederate
talent went into the military rather than the Cabinet, and the cabinet suffered
from frequent turnover and reshuffling. Sixteen different men served in the six
Cabinet posts during the four years of the Confederacy's existence. The most
talented—but also the most unpopular—member of the Cabinet was Judah P.
Benjamin. Among the weakest cabinet secretaries was Treasury Secretary
Christopher Memminger, who had little experience with fiscal policy; Memminger
was placed at the Treasury by Davis due to the influence of South Carolinians,
because Memminger had been an influential supporter of that state's secession.
Civil War historian Allen C. Guelzo describes the first Confederate secretaries
of war and state, Leroy Pope Walker of Alabama and Robert Toombs of Georgia,
respectively—as "brainless political appointees."
The cabinet's performance suffered due to Davis's inability to delegate and
propensity to micromanage his Cabinet officers. Davis consulted with the Cabinet
frequently—meeting with individual cabinet secretaries almost every day and
convening meetings of the full Cabinet two or three times a week—but these
meetings, which could stretch to five hours or more, "rarely saw anything
accomplished." Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory lamented that "From
[Davis's] uncontrollable tendency to digression," cabinet meetings "consumed
four or five hours without determining anything." Many of the cabinet members
became frustrated, especially the secretaries of war; after concluding "that
they could not get along with Davis's constant interference and
micromanagement," many resigned. Nine of the eleven Confederate states "had
representation in the Cabinet at some point during the life of Confederacy";
only Tennessee and Arkansas never had a Confederate cabinet officer.
The final meeting of the Confederate cabinet took place in Fort Mill, South
Carolina, amid the Confederate collapse. Fort Mill was the only place where the
full Confederate cabinet met after the fall of Richmond.
The Cabinet
Alexander H. Stephens--Home state was Georgia and served from 18 February 1861 thru 11 May 1865
Robert Toombs--Home state was Georgia and served from 25 February 1861--25 July 1861
Robert M. T. Hunter--Home state of Virginia--Served from 25 July 1861--18 February 1862.
William M. Browne--Home state of Georgia-- Served from 18 February 1862 – 18 March 1862
Judah P. Benjamin--Home state of Louisiana--Served from 18 March 1862--10 May 1865.
Christopher Memminger--Home state of South Carolina--Served from 25 February 1861--18 July 1864.
George Trenholm--Home state of South Carolina--Served from 25 February 1861--18 July 1864--27 April 1865.
John H. Regan--Home state of Texas--Served from 27 April 1865--10 May 1865.
LeRoy Pope Walker--Home state of Alabama--Served from 25 February 1861--16 September 1861.
Judah P. Benjamin--Home state of Louisiana--Served from 17 September 1861--24 March 1862.
George W. Randolph--Home state of Virginia--Served from 24 March 1862--15 November 1862.
James Seddon--Home State of Virginia--Served from 21 November 1862--5 February 1865.
Major General John C. Breckinridge--Home state of Kentucky--Served from 6 February 1865--10 May 1865.
Stephen Mallory--Home state of Florida--Served from 4 March 1861--2 May 1865.
John H. Regan--Home state of Texas--Served from 6 March 1861--10 May 1865.
Judah P. Benjamin--Home state of Louisiana--Served from 25 February 1861--17 September 1861.
Wade Keyes--Home state of Alabama--Served from 17 September 1861--21 November 1861.
Thomas Bragg--Home state of North Carolina--Served from 21 November 1861--18 March 1862.
Thomas H. Watts--Home state of Alabama--Served from 18 March 1862--1 October 1863.
Wade Keyes--Home state of Alabama--Served from 1 October 1863--2 January 1864.
George Davis--Home state of North Carolina--Served from 2 January 1864--24 April 1865.