It was contentious within the Confederate Army for two reasons. The first, was the intent to consolidate understrength Companies and Regiments into other units, thereby "retiring" long standing and bloodied units. General Longstreet argued against the move pointing out that the "esprit de corps" would suffer and sagging moral could be eroded further.
The second point of contention (I believe this was part of the Bill and I'm looking for confirmation), was the provisions allowing for the recruitment of negro soldiers to bolster the Army's strength. I have found a diary entry that speaks of the Regimental meeting held by the Company Officers, to determine what opinions were held regarding this eventuality and whether these new recruits would perform best on their own, or integrated into existing regiments and companies. Some may be surprised to learn, that after consulting the enlisted men, the Officers reported that it was generally felt that these new recruits should be integrated into existing units. It was pointed out that many men didn't really care for the idea, but preferred such an arrangement over the very real possibility that they would be subjugated by the Yankees if nothing were done.