General Robert E. Lee’s wife, Mary Anne
Custis, was delayed and questioned by
provost guards during a trip before her
identity was confirmed. Over time, oppres-
sive measures continued to be hotly
debated, and provost authority was to a
degree curtailed in areas outside the actual
fields of military operations. Additionally,
provost marshal appointments were care-
fully controlled in rear areas.
Early on, Confederate commanders
requested authority to raise companies of
exempt men to be used by the provost mar-
shals to enforce orders. In addition, local
defense units were organized from the
reserve corps and those unfit for active ser-
vice. In at least one major department, a
provost organization was formalized on a
district and subdistrict basis, and necessary
police officers were appointed, with militia
being used as provost guards to keep order
and guard public property, prisons, and
bridges. In many regions, the absence of any
other manpower made the use of the
provost guards inevitable. And while there
were some complaints from regular troops
about their being detached for provost duty,
there were also numerous instances of men
using provost duty to avoid the rigors of
active service, a practice that reached serious
proportions in the last two years of the war.
Confederate congressional representa-
tives called for steps to prevent officers
from abusing their power to grant exemp-
tions from conscription in certain areas. It
was feared that enrolling officers who
stayed too long in one locality (and who
themselves were frequently averse to hard,
frontline service) would become overly
familiar with local citizens and thus more
prone to keep eligible men out of the army.
In military departments, the provost
chain of command was from subdistrict to
district and finally to department-level
provost marshals. In the field armies, as
well, a chain extended through the levels
of command from brigade through division
and corps. Staff responsibilities were fairly
well defined, with provost guards receiving
their orders either directly from formationJoin us at the
Sandcastle Resort
on the warm white sands
of Lido Beach- 24th Annual Civil War Symposium, January 21-
with Ed Bearss, Wiliam C. "Jack" Davis, Joseph T. Glatthaar,
Harold Holzer, Robert K. Krick, Gary Kross, John F. Marszalek,
Richard M. McMurry, James I. "Bud" Robertson and Frank J. Williams - 5th Annual World War I Conference, January 26-
with Ed Bearss, Robert J. Dalessandro, Stuart R. Dempsey,
Robert Doughty, George A. Kranz, Jerry D. Morelock,
John H. Morrow, Jr., Steve Suddaby,
Graydon A. "Jack" Tunstall and Mitchell Yockelson - 11th Annual World War II Conference, January 28-
with Ed Bearss, Ron Bushaw, Robert J. Dalessandro,
Carlo D'Este, Stuart R. Dempsey, Bruce Gamble, Rob Havers,
John Hensel, Jerry D. Morelock, Damaris Peters Pike,
Craig L. Symonds, Jay Wertz and Mitchell Yockelson
Engaging Presentations, Panel Discussions,
Author Book-Signings, Social Gatherings and Fun!
You are Invited to Attend the
SARASOTA, FLORIDA
MILITARY HISTORY FESTIVAL
Including the:For Program Information
and Registration, Visit
http://www.cwea.net
or call 800-298-From the Publishers of Civil War Quarterly
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You’ll be astonished at the new details you’ll learn about this most
terrible of Civil War battles, and gain a new appreciation of the facts
you already know.Of all the famous battles of the
Civil War, it is Gettysburg that
captures our imagination the most.
Not only the largest battle fought
in Union territory — it’s often
described as the turning point in
the entire war.Every imaginable detail of this most
iconic of Civil War battles, from
start to finish, is here in Sovereign
Media’s comprehensive Special
Issue, THEBATTLE OFGETTYSBURG.CWQ-EW16 Intelligence *missing Mercer, Pad_Layout 1 10/23/15 11:14 AM Page 9