Answerable to the president, the secretary of war controlled all matters regarding the army and Indian tribes,[1] and had the right to appoint as many clerks as it found necessary.

[5] The president had the power to appoint and fire the secretary of war for unnecessary, dishonest, and inefficient work performance.

His lack of experience in the military field hampered his ability to manage the war effort, and he received the blame for the early supply and organizational issues of the Confederacy.

Antisemitism[8] angled against him, a prominent and known still-practicing Jew, became a strong part of this criticism, and intensified as the war effort further diminished in the eyes of the Confederate public.

[11] With the war effort disintegrating, Davis appointed John C. Breckinridge in February 1865, three months before the surrender of the Confederate Army.

Breckenridge’s strong leadership led to improvements in supply and strategy,[12] but the dire situation made most of his contributions minimal.

With the surrender of the Confederacy, Breckinridge fled the country, abdicating his post, and was the last Confederate secretary of war.