Biography of confederate generals by rank
Ranks and insignia of the Confederate States
The ranks and insignia of the Confederate States were a rank insignia system devised for the military of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.
Confederate States Army (CSA)
Officers
At the beginning of the Civil War, the ranks and rank insignias for the fledgling Confederate States Army had to be developed while the volunteer forces of the individual states that formed the Confederacy made up their own ranks and insignias. They usually were similar or influenced by both their own militia traditions and those used by the regular United States Army.
Officers wore, according to regulations, a combination of several rank indicators on their uniform. The primary insignia was a number of bars or stars worn on the collar of the uniform coat or tunic. This was occasionally substituted for, or coupled with, shoulder straps. The secondary insignia were Austrian knots, elaborate patterns sewed