Department of the Gulf

On March 20, 1862, Butler activated his command at Ship Island, Mississippi by issuing General Orders No.

The department, sometimes referred to as the Army of the Gulf, became a union occupying force in the region.

[4] On May 8, 1864, the boundary was again modified to define the eastern edge as being the intersection of latitude 32° north with a line running from the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa to point where the Choctawhatchee River entered Florida then following the Choctawhatchee to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico.

The order specified that the department was to include the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Brigadier General William M. Graham assumed command of the department on March 14, 1898.