Stephen Mallory - Confederate Secretary of The Navy: Nomination and Confirmation

Confederate Secretary of The Navy: Nomination and Confirmation

The governmental structure of the newly-formed Confederate States of America was very much like that of the parent United States. The executive branch was partitioned into several departments, each headed by a secretary or equivalent who would advise the president. The constitution provided for a navy that would be directed by its own department, and President Jefferson Davis nominated Mallory to be Confederate States Secretary of the Navy. He was chosen for two principal reasons: first, he had extensive experience with nautical affairs, both in his boyhood home of Key West and later in Washington; and second, he was from Florida. In a bow to the principle of States' Rights, Davis had to spread representation in his cabinet around among the seceding states. Although the requirement of geographical representation sometimes meant that the occupant would not be the best person available, the selection process worked well in Mallory's case.

Mallory's nomination as Secretary of the Navy was submitted to the Provisional Congress as soon as the act establishing a navy was passed. Despite his evident qualifications, it drew significant opposition; his detractors cited the Fort Pickens incident as evidence that he was not strongly pro-secession. Ultimately, however, he was confirmed.