Brevet Major General David E. Twiggs, May 18, 1857, to February 19, 1861
Lt. Colonel Washington Seawell, December 10, 1859, to February 6, 1860. (temporary or acting)
Colonel Robert E. Lee, February 6, 1860, to December 12, 1860. (temporary or acting)
Colonel Carlos A. Waite, February 19, 1861. to April 23, 1861, when the officers of the U.S. Army's Department of Texas are all taken as prisoners of war at the department's headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.
Second creation
Bvt. Major General Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865, to August 2, 1865
Bvt. Major General Horatio G. Wright, July 20, 1865, to August 18, 1866