 The Confederate Congress established a special committee to investigate the military losses ; Benjamin testified before it . The Secretary of State , Virginia 's Robert M. T. Hunter , had quarreled with Davis and resigned and in March 1862 , Benjamin was appointed as his replacement . Varina Davis noted that some in Congress had sought Benjamin 's ouster " because of reverses which no one could have averted , [ so ] the President promoted him to the State Department with a personal and aggrieved sense of injustice done to the man who had now become his friend and right hand . " Richmond diarist Sallie Ann Brock Putnam wrote , " Mr. Benjamin was not forgiven ... this act on the part of the President [ in promoting Benjamin ] , in defiance of public opinion , was considered as unwise , arbitrary , and a reckless risking of his reputation and popularity ... [ Benjamin ] was ever afterwards unpopular in the Confederacy , and particularly in Virginia " . Despite the promotion , the committee reported that any blame for the defeat at Roanoke Island should attach to Wise 's superior , Major General Benjamin Huger , " and the late secretary of war , J.P. Benjamin " . 
