Department of the Gulf (Cavalry Corps)

Wikipedia says: The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.

United States Army (Civil War)

Creation

The department was constituted on February 23, 1862 when the United States War Department issued General Orders No. 20; the department consisted of “…all of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico west of Pensacola harbor, and so much of the Gulf States as may be occupied by the forces under Major General B.F. Butler.” On March 20, 1862, Butler activated his command at Ship Island, Mississippi by issuing General Orders No. 1 (Department of the Gulf) assuming his new command.

Activities

United States Navy’s West Gulf Blockading Squadron captured New Orleans, Louisiana on April 29, 1862, Butler moved his headquarters to New Orleans on 1 May. The department, sometimes referred to as the Army of the Gulf, became a union occupying force in the region.

Commanders

Major General B. F. Butler, March 20, 1862 – December 17, 1862

Major General N. P. Banks, December 17, 1862 – September 23, 1864

Major General S. G. Hurlbut, September 23, 1864 – to April 22, 1865

Major General N. P. Banks, 22 April 22, 1865 – June 3, 1865

Major General E. R. S. Canby, June 3, 1865 –