He notably surrendered Roanoke Island and then the rest of the Norfolk, Virginia shipyards, attracting criticism for allowing valuable equipment to be captured.

At Seven Pines, he was blamed by General James Longstreet for impeding the Confederate attack and was transferred to an administrative post after a lackluster performance in the Seven Days Battles.

Frank Huger would enter the Confederate forces during the American Civil War as well, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and leading a battalion of field artillery by the end of the conflict.

He was appointed to the rank of brevet major for his performance at the Veracruz on March 29 and to lieutenant colonel for the Battle of Molino del Rey on September 8.

[9] Despite the declared secession of South Carolina in December 1860, Huger remained in the U.S. Army until after the Battle of Fort Sumter, resigning effective April 22, 1861.

"[10] Huger was commissioned an infantry lieutenant colonel in the regular Confederate States Army on March 16, then briefly commanded the forces in and around Norfolk, Virginia.

Wise, asked Huger for various supplies, ammunition, field artillery, and most importantly, additional men, greatly fearing an attack on his quite unfinished defenses.

Eventually, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Huger to send help to the Roanoke Island area, but it proved too late.

Huger, with about 13,000 soldiers, failed to reinforce the immediate commanders there, an ailing Wise and Col. H. M. Shaw, and Burnside quickly eliminated the Confederate resistance and forced a surrender.

Military historian Shelby Foote believed this loss "...shook whatever confidence the citizens had managed to retain in Huger, who was charged with their defense."

On February 27, President Davis declared martial law in Norfolk and suspended the right of habeas corpus, attempting to regain control, and two days later, he did the same in Richmond.

On April 27, he was ordered by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to abandon the area, salvaging from Gosport Navy Yard as much usable equipment as he could, and join the main army.

Military historian Webb Garrison, Jr. believed Huger did not leave the area properly, stating: "...the evacuation of Norfolk was handled poorly by Confederate Gen. Benjamin Huger—too much property was left intact."

Also lost as a result was the famous Ironclad warship CSS Virginia, scuttled by her crew when she could not stay in the James River, get past U.S. Navy forces at its mouth, nor survive at sea even if it did.

[15] The United States would maintain control of the Norfolk facilities for the rest of the war, and the Confederate Congress soon began to investigate Huger's part in the defeat at Roanoke Island.

[18] This delay and Longstreet's instructions to stand by and wait for orders prevented Huger's division from supporting the advance on time and hampered the overall Confederate attack.

In his official report of the Battle of Seven Pines, Longstreet unjustly blamed Huger for the less than entirely successful action, complaining of his tardiness on May 31 but not relating the reason for the delay.

[19] In a private letter to an injured Johnston written on June 7, Longstreet stated: The failure of complete success on Saturday [May 31] I attribute to the slow movements of Gen. Huger's command...

"[21] Huger then participated in several of the Seven Days Battles with the Army of Northern Virginia, now under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, who replaced the wounded Johnston on June 1.

The next day Huger was ordered toward Glendale but was delayed by the retreating U.S. forces who had cut trees to slow pursuit and the terrain that easily allowed for an ambush.

However, his few artillery shots were interpreted by the other Confederates as the signal to attack, igniting the Battle of Glendale, although Huger and his command would not take part in the fight and camped.

[25] The following day, July 1, was Huger's last fight with the Army of Northern Virginia and his final field command in the American Civil War.

Because Magruder had mistakenly led his command away from the battle, Huger took up his place on the Confederate right, just north of the "Crew House", with the division of Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill on his left.

Other Confederate units made less progress and took heavy casualties, and around 4 p.m., Magruder arrived and put in two brigades—about a third of his command—behind Armistead, but he too retired with high loss.

[27] Following the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, Gen. Lee began reorganizing his army and eliminating ineffective division commanders, including Huger.

This position he held until the end of the American Civil War in 1865, when he surrendered along with Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith and the rest of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi forces.

"[28] Likewise John C. Fredriksen states, "He functioned capably in this office until 1863, when he rose to chief of ordnance in the Trans-Mississippi Department until the end of the war.