03/21/1862
As the war intensified along the southern and southeast coasts, President Lincoln instituted two new Army commands. One, the Department of the Gulf, included all of the Gulf Coast west of Pensacola, Florida and was placed under the command of Major General Benjamin Butler. The other, named the Department of the South, covered South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida under the supervision of Major General David Hunter. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation:
Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1862), IV: 65.