Expert: LTC Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard - 6/30/2006

Question
for years i have been unable to find the answer to this ?.i know lee was offered the command of federal army prior to the war.what i cant find out was why him.i know about his reputation but where did he fall in senority in the army. i believe joe johnson outranked him . was there any consideration of not following this protocol?
when lee and johnson joined the conferderacy there was considerable animosity towards davis and others by j. johnson due to his rank in federal army as quartermaster general. when the full general list came out johnson was not happy in his ranking.was there a pecking order that was ignored to give lee the job? also, is there a list of men who outranked lee available to read?i have contacted different historians who write for magazines without any successful answer.

Answer
Dear Mr. Moore,
             Prior to resigning his commission in 1861, Robert E. Lee was a brevet colonel. There was no such thing as protocol in the U.S. Army prior to the War Between the States. Lee was one of Winfield Scott's most trusted aides during the Mexican-American War and led the force that captured John Brown at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Both Francis P. Blair (asked by Lincoln) and Major General Winfield Scott knew Lee's accomplishments as well as his family's history. He was willing to assume command of the Federal Army as long as Virginia stayed with the Union. Only when Virginia seceded did Lee turn down the offer after much soul-searching on 18 April 1861. He resigned from the U.S. Army on April 20, 1861. The list of U.S. Army generals in April, 1861 was as follows:

Winfield Scott-Major General June 25, 1841 Age-75

John Ellis Wool-Brigadier General June 25, 1841 Age-77

David Emanuel Twiggs-Brigadier General June 30, 1846

William Selby Harney-Brigadier General June 14, 1858 Age-60

Joseph E. Johnston-Quartermaster Brigadier General
                  June 28, 1860 Staff Appointment

Edwin Vose Sumner-Brigadier General March 16, 1861 Age-64

Jefferson Davis had known Robert E. Lee since 1825; first meeting him at West Point while he was a cadet. He was very impressed with Lee's education and record while attending West Point and again while he was the superintendent of the military academy. The following list is of the Confederate generals as of 31 August 1861:

Samuel Cooper 16 May 1861 Adjutant and Inspector General

Albert Sidney Johnston 30 May 1861

Robert Edward Lee 14 June 1861

Joseph Eggleston Johnston 4 July 1861

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard 21 July 1861

Prior to 16 May 1861, the highest rank in the Confederate States Regular Army was Brigadier General and five were authorized:

Samuel Cooper 16 March 1861 Adjutant and Inspector General

Robert Edward Lee 14 May 1861

Joseph Eggleston Johnston 14 May 1861

In addition to the Confederate States Regular Army, there was the Provisional Army (PACS) which had the ranks of both Brigadier and Major General:

Major Generals (PACS)-

David Emanuel Twiggs 22 May 1861

Leonidas Polk 25 June 1861

The first Brigadier General (PACS):

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard 1 March 1861

At least thirty-five others appointed between March and August, 1861 as Brigadier Generals.

The rank of Lieutenant General was authorized for the Confederate States Regular Army was authorized for the PACS on 18 September 1862.

As a footnote, Lee refused to wear the insignia of a Confederate general stating that,in honor to his rank of Brevet Colonel in the U.S. Army; he would only display the three stars of a Confederate colonel until the War Between the States had been won and Lee could be promoted, in peacetime, to a general in the Confederate Army.

Recommended web site:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/civil-war-usa/faq/part1/

Please rate my response and May God Bless-LTC Robert A. Lynn