General officers in the Confederate States Army Edmund Kirby Smith, who was appointed general late in the war and into the PACS. Pierre G.T. Beauregard, had also initially been appointed a PACS general but was elevated to ACSA two months later with the same date of rank. These generals outranked all other grades of generals, as well as all lesser officers in the Confederate States Army. The first group of officers appointed to general were Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and Pierre G.T. Beauregard, with their seniority in that order. This ordering caused Cooper, a staff officer who would not see
Army of Northern Virginia it is generally referred to today as the Army of Northern Virginia, even if that is correct only in retrospect. In addition to Virginians, it included regiments from all over the Confederacy, some from as far away as Georgia, Texas and Arkansas. One of the most well known was the Texas Brigade, made up of the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas, and the 3rd Arkansas, which distinguished themselves in numerous battles, such as during their fight for the Devil's Den at the Battle of Gettysburg. The first commander of the Army of Northern Virginia was General P.G.T. Beauregard (under its