The regular army was small, and widely scattered over the Western frontiers and along the coasts of lake and ocean. March 31, 1861, it numbered 16,507, including 1074 officers. Some officers had joined the secession movement before this date.
The disaffection was among the officers alone. Two hundred and eighty-two officers resigned or deserted to take service in the Confederate Army; of these 192 were graduates of West Point Military Academy, and 178 of the latter became general officers during the war.( 6)
The number of officers, commissioned and warrant, who left the United States Navy and entered the Confederate service was, approximately, 460.( 7)
To the credit of the rank and file of the regular army, and of the seamen in the navy, it is, on high authority, said that:
"It is worthy of note that, while in this government's hour of trial large numbers of those in the army and navy who have been favored with the offices have resigned and proved false to the hand which had pampered them, not one common soldier or common sailor is known to have deserted his flag."( 8)
David E. Twiggs, a Brevet Major-General, on February 18, 1861, surrendered, at San Antonio, Texas, all the military posts and other property in his possession; and this after receiving an order relieving him from command. He was an old and tried soldier of the United States Army, and his example was pernicious in a high degree.
There were few, however, who, like him, took the opportunity to desert and at the same time to do a dishonorable official act calculated to injure the government they had served.
March 5, 1861, Twiggs was given a grand reception in New Orleans; salutes were fired in honor of his recent treachery.( 9) President Buchanan, to his credit, through Secretary of War Holt, March 1st, dismissed him from the army.(10)
It is a curious fact that this order of dismissal was signed by S. Cooper, Adjutant-General of the United States Army (a native of New Jersey), who, six days later, resigned his position, hastened to Montgomery, Alabama, and there accepted a like office in the Confederate government. Disloyalty among prominent army officers seemed, for a time, the rule.(11)
It was industriously circulated, not without its effect, that General Winfield Scott had deserted his country and flag to take command of the Confederate Army. To his honor it must be said, however, that he never faltered, and the evidence is overwhelming that he never entertained a thought of joining his State—Virginia. He early foresaw that disunion and war were coming, and not only deprecated them but desired to strengthen the United States Government and to avert both. Only his great age prevented his efficiently leading the Union armies.