General George G. Meade
General George G. Meade
The general is not the commander-in-chief because the general is appointed by the president, but the president is the commander-in-chief because he is supposed to represent the public's opinion for the war.
I don't think they appointed a supreme commander. Robert E. Lee was in charge of the army in the East and was undoubtedly their leading general. Jefferson Davis was the president - I do not know if he was commander-in-chief of military forces like the US president.
US President Harry Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces - he supervised the occupation.
By all accounts, US President Lincoln believed that general Ulysses S. Grant was the Union's most valuable general. Lincoln appointed him as commander of all Union military forces and had Grant report directly to the president.
Sir, General, Commander, or if also a president...Mr. President.
by the president
Union: Commander-in-Chief President Abraham Lincoln. General-in-Chief Lieutenent General Ulysses Simpson Grant, appointed on March 9, 1865. Grant's predecessors were: Major General Winfield Scott, Major General George McClellan, Major General Henry Wager Halleck. Confederacy: Commander-in-Chief President Jefferson Finis Davis. General in Chief Army General Robert Edward Lee, appointed on Feb.6,1865. Lee didn't have any predecessor because Jefferson Davis didn't appoint anyone to that office before him.
Davis believed he and only he would make the decisions regarding appointments. While he was the Commander in Chief, Davis often clashed with the Confederate Congress over bills and appointments.
General Grant was appointed Supreme leader of all Union armies.
The surgeon general is appointed by the president and serves for as long as (s)he is willing and the president will have them.
Grant was the commander of the Army of the Tennessee, before being appointed General Commander of the Western Front.