<P> In addition, an act of Congress of March 2, 1849 authorized the President to appoint a suitable person as Judge Advocate of the army, to be taken from the captains of the army . Captain John F. Lee of the Ordnance Department was accordingly appointed, and held the office until it was superseded by the legislation of 1862 . </P> <P> With few active officers to fill many commands, the two Civil War armies had to look to other persons for military leadership . Lower ranking U.S. Army officers, Mexican - American War veterans and military school graduates in civilian life would fill many top and field grade officer positions . Many positions were also filled by foreign emigres, some of whom had military training, and politicians and other civilians with no military training . Some became good generals but many others were poor commanders . </P> <P> At the outbreak of the Civil War, 296 U.S. Army officers of various grades resigned . Of these, 239 joined the Confederate Army in 1861 and 31 joined after 1861 . Of these Confederate officers from the U.S. Army, 184 were United States Military Academy graduates . The other active U.S. Army 809 officers, 640 of whom were West Point graduates, remained with the Union . Of the approximately 900 West Point graduates in civilian life at the beginning of the war, 114 returned to the Union Army and 99 joined the Confederate Army . Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont furnished more officers to the war than any other military school except the United States Military Academy and Virginia Military Institute . The school contributed 523 officers to the Union Army and 34 to the Confederate Army . Norwich was the only military college in the Northern states, other than West Point, which had a sizable number of military trained alumni who could provide a significant number of officers to the Union Army . </P> <P> Of the 1,902 men who had ever attended Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, 1,781 fought for the Confederacy . One - third of the field officers of Virginia regiments in 1861 were V.M.I. graduates . The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina provided at least 6 general officers to the Confederate Army as well as 49 field grade officers, and 120 company grade officers . Another alumnus of The Citadel, Colonel Charles C. Tew, was killed on the eve of his promotion to brigadier general . </P>

Who commanded the north in the civil war