Ranks and insignia of the Confederate States

The Ranks and insignia of the Confederate States were a rank insignia system devised by the forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. While based on the Union rank system, changes were introduced to differentiate the "gray" from the "blue".

Junior officers up to captain had a less elaborate pattern of braid on their tunic cuffs and wore collar insignia of three horizontal bars for a captain, two for a first lieutenant and one for a second lieutenant. Majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels wore respectively one, two, and three stars on the collar, and all grades of general had the insignia of three stars (the middle being slightly larger) in an open top wreath pattern.

Most officers wore buttons in two rows of seven. Generals could be recognised by the eagles on their buttons and the placement of the buttons in groups of two. While there was no official distinction for different grades of general, some major generals adopted the pattern of their Union counterparts by wearing two row of nine buttons in groups of three.

Confederate Armies

Rank	Navy Equivalent	Collar Insignia	Sleeve Insignia
General	Flag Officer	General (all grades). (all grades)	(all grades)
Lieutenant General
Major General
Brigadier General
Colonel	Captain
Lieutenant Colonel	Commander
Major	Lieutenant
Captain	Master		Army captain.
First Lieutenant	Passed Midshipman		First Lieutenant.
Second Lieutenant	Midshipman		Second Lieutenant.

Enlisted Rank Structure
Sergeant Major	Quartermaster Sergeant	Ordnance Sergeant	First Sergeant
Sergeant	Corporal	Musician	Private

References

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

External links

• Civil War rank insignia