As of September 18, 1862, when lieutenant generals were authorized, the Confederate States Army had four grades of general officers; they were (in order of increasing rank) brigadier general, major general, lieutenant general, and general.Eicher, p. 25 As officers were appointed to the various grades of general by Jefferson Davis (and were confirmed), he would create the promotion lists himself. The dates of rank, as well as seniority of officers appointed to the same grade on the same day, were determined by Davis, "usually following the guidelines established for the prewar U.S. Army."Eicher, p. 807.
