Central Army of Kentucky (CSA), Confederate Army, Civil War

Created on October 28, 1861, under the command of General Albert S. Johnston, the Central Army of Kentucky was the main military force in the Confederacy's Western District until March 29, 1862, when it merged with the Army of the Mississippi.

Essential Facts

Formed: December 4, 1861
Dissolved: March 29, 1862

Commanding Offices

History

Origin

The Central Army of Kentucky traces its roots to a provisional Confederate army assembled soon after the beginning of the Civil War. On June 25, 1861, Samuel Cooper, Adjutant General of the Confederate States of America, informed Brigadier General Leonidas Polk that the Confederate War Department had promoted Polk to the rank of major general of the provisional army and placed him in command of a large area in the west, including parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Two weeks later, on July 4, Assistant Adjutant General Jonathan Withers issued Special Orders, No. 88 announcing that Polk’s area of command will “hereafter constitute Department No.2.” On September 10, 1861, Withers issued Special Orders, No. 149 announcing that General Albert Sidney Johnston’s assignment to command Department No. 2 (also known as the Western Department). Johnston assumed command and assigned his staff officers the next day.

Upon taking command of the Western Department, Johnston went to work organizing the Confederate forces in the West. His most pressing challenge was trying to defend a three-hundred-mile front stretching from the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachians all the way to the Mississippi River. On October 28, 1861, Johnston issued Special Orders, No. 51 (Western Department) assuming “immediate command of the army corps of Central Kentucky.” The order also named Major General William H. Hardee as commander of the army’s first division (4,000 soldiers) and Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner as commander of the army’s second division (6,000 soldiers).

Hardee’s Command

Outnumbered by Northern foes roughly two-to-one, Johnston gathered his forces at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the heart of his defensive line. On December 4, 1861, Johnston issued General Orders, No. 127 announcing that the “command of the Central Army of Kentucky is devolved upon Major-General Hardee.” Johnston, however, kept command of the Western Department.

Reorganization — Johnston’s Command

Following the loss of Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Johnston acted to save Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. He ordered Buckner and Brigadier General John B. Floyd to march a detachment of 8,000 soldiers from the Central Army of Kentucky to reinforce the garrison at Fort Donelson. Despite the reinforcements, the fort fell to Ulysses S. Grant’s forces on February 16.

After the fall of Fort Donelson, Johnston’s headquarters at Bowling Green became untenable. Johnston evacuated Bowling Green, Kentucky, on February 13, 1862, and to fall back to Murfreesboro, near Nashville, Tennessee. While there he issued Special Orders, No. 4 on February 23, 1862, reorganizing the Central Army of Kentucky under his personal command. The newly configured army comprised three divisions commanded by Hardee, Major General George B. Crittenden, and Brigadier General Gideon Pillow, besides a reserve brigade led by Brigadier General John C. Breckinridge. At that time, the Central Army of Kentucky numbered roughly 17,000 soldiers.

Dissolution

Pressed by Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio, Johnston evacuated central Tennessee and headed for a rendezvous with General P. G. T. Beauregard’s Army of the Mississippi at Corinth, Mississippi, in March. On March 29, 1862, Johnston issued General Orders, Nos. 1-8 announcing the consolidation of the Central Army of Kentucky with Beauregard’s army. The combined force, under Johnston’s command, assumed the name of the Army of the Mississippi, thus ending the existence of the Central Army of Kentucky. The Army of the Mississippi later morphed into the Army of Tennessee, the Confederacy’s main force in the Western Theater of the Civil War.

Timeline of Battles and Key Events

1861

On June 25, 1861, Samuel Cooper, Adjutant General of the Confederate States of America, informed Brigadier General Leonidas Polk that the Confederate War Department had promoted Polk to the rank of major general of the provisional army and placed him in command of a large area in the west, including parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
On July 4, 1861, Assistant Adjutant General Jonathan Withers issued Special Orders, No. 88 creating Department No.2 (aka the Western Department) encompassing much of the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River in the South.
On September 10, 1861, Assistant Adjutant General Jonathan Withers issued Special Orders, No. 149 announcing that General Albert S. Johnston was assigned to command Department No. 2 (aka the Western Department).
General Albert S. Johnston assumed command of Department No. 2 (aka the Western Department) on September 11, 1861.
On October 28, 1861, General Albert S. Johnston issued Special Orders, No. 51 (Western Department) assuming “immediate command of the army corps of Central Kentucky.”
On December 4, 1861, General Albert S. Johnston issued General Orders, No. 127 announcing that the “command of the Central Army of Kentucky is devolved upon Major-General Hardee.” Johnston, however, retained command of the Western Department.

1862

Following the loss of Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, General Albert S. Johnston ordered Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner and Brigadier General John B. Floyd to march a detachment of 8,000 soldiers from the Central Army of Kentucky to reinforce the garrison at Fort Donelson.
Under General Albert S. Johnston’s orders, the Central Army of Kentucky evacuated Bowling Green, Kentucky, on February 13, 1862, and to fell back to Murfreesboro, near Nashville, Tennessee.
On February 23, 1862, General Albert S. Johnston issued Special Orders, No. 4 reorganizing the Central Army of Kentucky under his personal command.
Special Orders, No. 4 reconfigured the Central Army of Kentucky into three divisions commanded by Major General William H. Hardee, Major General George B. Crittenden, and Brigadier General Gideon Pillow, in addition to a reserve brigade led by Brigadier General John C. Breckinridge. At that time, the Central Army of Kentucky numbered roughly 17,000 soldiers.
Under General Albert S. Johnston’s orders, the Central Army of Kentucky evacuated central Tennessee in March and headed for a rendezvous with General P. G. T. Beauregard’s Army of the Mississippi at Corinth, Mississippi.
On March 29, 1862, General Albert S. Johnston issued General Orders, No. 1-8, announcing the consolidation of the Central Army of Kentucky with Army of the Mississippi. The combined force, under Johnston’s command, assumed the name of Army of the Mississippi, thus ending the existence of the Central Army of Kentucky.
The Army of the Mississippi (aka the Army of Mississippi) later morphed into the Army of Tennessee, the Confederacy’s main force in the Western Theater of the Civil War.
General Albert S. Johnston commanded the Central Army of Kentucky from October 28, 1861 – December 4, 1861.
Major General William J. Hardee commanded the Central Army of Kentucky from December 4, 1861 – February 23, 1862.
General Albert S. Johnston commanded the Central Army of Kentucky from February 23 – March 29, 1862.

Written by Harry Searles