Department of the Gulf

Creation Date

1862-02-23

Dissolution Date

1865-06-27

Entity Type

Organization

The Department of the Gulf was created on February 23, 1862 and initially consisted of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico west of Pensacola Harbor and those portions of the Gulf states occupied by Union forces. The department was subsequently enlarged on August 8, 1862 to include the portion of Florida west of the Apalachicola River. It was further enlarged on March 16, 1863 to include Key West and Tortugas, Florida. The department was reconstituted on February 10, 1865 to include only the states of Louisiana and Texas. This was further revised on May 17, 1865, when the department was re-enlarged to include the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida (including the District of Key West and Tortugas). The department was discontinued on June 27, 1865. Commander(s): Benjamin F. Butler, Nathaniel P. Banks, Stephen A. Hurlbut, and Edward R.S. Canby.

Frank J. Welcher, The Union Army, 1861—1865: Organization and Operations, vol. 2, The Western Theatre (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993), 28-30.

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