The Confederate States Department of the Treasury was the department of the executive branch of the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 responsible for the administration of the economic affairs of the Confederacy. These affairs including the issuing of debt, the collecting of taxes, the printing of money, and the administration of customs The Department of the Treasury was led by the Secretary of the Treasury, a position which was established in legislation passed by the Provisional Confederate Congress

Provisional Confederate Congress

The Provisional Confederate Congress, for a time the legislative branch of the Confederate States of America, was the body which drafted the Confederate Constitution, elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy, and designed the first Confederate flag...

 in 1861.

History

While not explicitly established in the Confederate Constitution, a mandate for the establishment of the Treasury Department can be inferred from repeated references throughout the document referring to the "Treasury of Confederate States". The Department of the Treasury was officially established by an act of the Confederate Provisional Congress.

One of the early acts of the Provisional Confederate Congress assembled in Montgomery pertained to the status of the federally-employed customs official at customs houses which were in Confederate territory following the secession of states in which said customs houses were located. This issue was resolved by passing a bill assuming these customs agents into the employ of the Confederacy as part of the Department of the Treasury. The bill was passed into law on February 14, 1861 effecting such transfer of employment.

On March 9, 1861 the Provisional Congress authorized the printing of Confederate currency, in the form of paper treasury notes, amounting up to a total of $1 million dollars (CSA).

Organization

The Department of the Treasury had several sub-departments which were responsible for specific administrative duties within the department's purview.

• Loan Production Office:

Office of the Second Auditor

This office established in 1861, was responsible for auditing the accounts of the War Department

Confederate States War Department

The Confederate States War Department was a cabinet-level department in Confederate States of America government responsible for the administration of the affairs of the Confederate States Army. The War Department was led by the Confederate States Secretary of War...

.

Office of the Third Auditor

This office was establish in 1864 to handle the accounts of the Confederate States Post Office.

• Office of the Treasury Agent of the Trans-Mississippi:
• Treasury Note Bureau:

Office of the Commissioner of Taxes

Established in August 1861 as War Tax Office for the purpose collecting the taxes mandated by the Confederate Congress.

Lighthouse Bureau

Established on March 6, 1861 by an act of the Confederate Provisional Congress and placed into the care of the Department of the Treasury.