Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin asked General P. G. T. Beauregard to inspect Arkansas and Tennessee as Union forces threatened Memphis. The resulting report said Arkansas could be launched quickly and Tennessee was about six weeks behind, but that timetable did not survive contact with events. Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory then issued his own orders to the ship's commander. The Confederate Secretary of War oversaw Army affairs rather than a modern unified defence ministry, while the Navy remained a separate department. The overlapping chains added to an already difficult construction effort.
Notable Point · 20:20-23:03
Confederate War and Navy departments converge on Arkansas
Orders from Confederate Army and Navy authorities converge on Arkansas, illustrating separate departmental chains and growing coordination friction.