The Army of the Potomac was the principal
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
in the
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the
First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the
surrender of the Confederate
Army of Northern Virginia in April.
History
The Army of the
Potomac was created in 1861 but was then only the size of a corps (relative to the size of Union armies later in the war). Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under
Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
Irvin McDowell, and it was the army that fought (and lost) the war's first major battle, the
First Battle of Bull Run. The arrival in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, of
Maj. Gen.
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
George B. McClellan dramatically changed the makeup of that army. McClellan's original assignment was to command the
Division of the Potomac
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
* Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
* Division (military), a formation typically consistin ...
, which included the
Department of Northeast Virginia
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
under McDowell and the
Department of Washington
Department of Washington, was a department of the Union Army constituted on April 9, 1861. It consisted of the District of Columbia to its original boundaries, and the State of Maryland as far as Bladensburg. It was merged into the Military D ...
under Brig. Gen.
Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield (December 22, 1803 – September 18, 1862) was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.
Early life
Mansfield was ...
. On July 26, 1861, the
Department of the Shenandoah
The Army of the Shenandoah was a Union army during the American Civil War. First organized as the ''Department of the Shenandoah'' in 1861 and then disbanded in early 1862, it became most effective after its recreation on August 1, 1864, under Phi ...
, commanded by Maj. Gen.
Nathaniel P. Banks
Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...
, was merged with McClellan's departments and on that day, McClellan formed the Army of the Potomac, which was composed of all military forces in the former Departments of Northeastern Virginia, Washington,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, and the Shenandoah. The men under Banks's command became an infantry division in the Army of the Potomac. The army started with four corps, but these were divided during the
Peninsula Campaign to produce two more. After the
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...
, the Army of the Potomac absorbed the units that had served under Maj. Gen.
John Pope.
It is a popular, but mistaken, belief that John Pope commanded the Army of the Potomac in the summer of 1862 after McClellan's unsuccessful Peninsula Campaign. On the contrary, Pope's army consisted of different units, and was named the
Army of Virginia. During the time that the Army of Virginia existed, the Army of the Potomac was headquartered on the
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...
, and then outside Washington, D.C., with McClellan still in command, although three corps of the Army of the Potomac were sent to northern Virginia and were under Pope's operational control during the
Northern Virginia Campaign.
![The Army of the Potomac -- Our Outlying Picket in the Woods](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/The_Army_of_the_Potomac_--_Our_Outlying_Picket_in_the_Woods.jpg)
The Army of the Potomac underwent many structural changes during its existence. The army was divided by
Ambrose Burnside into three grand divisions of two corps each with a Reserve composed of two more. Hooker abolished the grand divisions. Thereafter the individual corps, seven of which remained in Virginia, reported directly to army headquarters. Hooker also created a Cavalry Corps by combining units that previously had served as smaller formations. In late 1863, two corps were sent West, and— in 1864— the remaining five corps were recombined into three. Burnside's
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to:
France
* 9th Army Corps (France)
* IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...
, which accompanied the army at the start of
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
's
Overland Campaign, rejoined the army later. For more detail, see the section Corps below.
The Army of the Potomac fought in most of the Eastern Theater campaigns, primarily in (Eastern) Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. After the end of the war, it was disbanded on June 28, 1865, shortly following its participation in the
Grand Review of the Armies
The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in the ...
.
The Army of the Potomac was also the name given to General
P. G. T. Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonly ...
's
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
army during the early stages of the war (namely, First Bull Run; thus, the losing Union Army ended up adopting the name of the winning Confederate army). However, the name was eventually changed to the
Army of Northern Virginia, which became famous under General
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
.
In 1869 the
Society of the Army of the Potomac
The Society of the Army of the Potomac was a military society founded in 1869 which was composed of officers and enlisted men who served with the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.
History
After the conclusion of the Civil War, a ...
was formed as a veterans association. It had its last reunion in 1929.
Famous units
Because of its proximity to the large cities of the North, such as
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the Army of the Potomac received more contemporary media coverage than the other Union field armies. Such coverage produced fame for a number of this army's units. Individual brigades, such as the
Irish Brigade, the
Philadelphia Brigade
The Philadelphia Brigade (also known as the California Brigade) was a Union Army brigade that served in the American Civil War. It was raised primarily in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the exception of the 106th regiment which cont ...
, the
First New Jersey Brigade The First New Jersey Brigade (also called the First Jersey Brigade and Kearny's New Jersey Brigade) is the common name for an American Civil War brigade of New Jersey infantry regiments in the Union Army of the Potomac. Its official designation thro ...
, the
Vermont Brigade The First Vermont Brigade, or "Old Brigade" was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. It suffered the highest casualty count of any brigade in the history of the United States Army, with some 1,172 kille ...
, and the
Iron Brigade, all became well known to the general public, both during the Civil War and afterward.
Corps
![Scouts and guides Army of the Potomac](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Scouts_and_guides_Army_of_the_Potomac.jpg)
The army originally consisted of fifteen divisions, the Artillery Reserve and the Cavalry Command. Commanded by
Edwin V. Sumner
Edwin Vose Sumner (January 30, 1797March 21, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who became a Union Army general and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American Civil War. His nicknames "Bull" or "Bul ...
,
William B. Franklin
William Buel Franklin (February 27, 1823March 8, 1903) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac, fighting in several notable bat ...
,
Louis Blenker
Louis Blenker (July 31, 1812 – October 31, 1863) was a German revolutionary and American soldier.
Life in Germany
He was born at Worms, Germany. After being trained as a goldsmith by an uncle in Kreuznach, he was sent to a polytechnical s ...
,
Nathaniel P. Banks
Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...
,
Frederick W. Lander (Replaced by
James Shields after Lander's death on March 2, 1862,
Silas Casey,
Irvin McDowell,
Fitz John Porter
Fitz John Porter (August 31, 1822 – May 21, 1901) (sometimes written FitzJohn Porter or Fitz-John Porter) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Sec ...
,
Samuel P. Heintzelman
Samuel Peter Heintzelman (September 30, 1805 – May 1, 1880) was a United States Army general. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, the Yuma War and the Cortina Troubles. During the American Civil War he was a prominent figu ...
,
Don Carlos Buell (Replaced by
Erasmus D. Keyes in November, 1861),
William F. Smith,
Joseph Hooker,
John A. Dix,
Charles P. Stone (Replaced by
John Sedgwick in February, 1862),
George A. McCall
George Archibald McCall (March 16, 1802 – February 25, 1868) was a United States Army officer who became a brigadier general and prisoner of war during the American Civil War. He was also a naturalist.
Biography
McCall was born in Philadel ...
,
George Stoneman (Replaced by
Philip St. George Cooke
Philip St. George Cooke (June 13, 1809 – March 20, 1895) was a career United States Army cavalry officer who served as a Union General in the American Civil War. He is noted for his authorship of an Army cavalry manual, and is sometimes called ...
in January, 1862) and
Henry J. Hunt
Henry Jackson Hunt (September 14, 1819 – February 11, 1889) was Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was ...
. Because this arrangement would be too hard to control in battle, President Lincoln issued an order on March 13, 1862, dividing the army into five corps headed by MG
Irvin McDowell (
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...
; Franklin's Division: BG
William B. Franklin
William Buel Franklin (February 27, 1823March 8, 1903) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac, fighting in several notable bat ...
, McCall's "
Pennsylvania Reserves
The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam a ...
" Division: BG
George A. McCall
George Archibald McCall (March 16, 1802 – February 25, 1868) was a United States Army officer who became a brigadier general and prisoner of war during the American Civil War. He was also a naturalist.
Biography
McCall was born in Philadel ...
and McDowell's old Division under BG
Rufus King
Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention and was one of the signers of the Unit ...
.), BG
Edwin V. Sumner
Edwin Vose Sumner (January 30, 1797March 21, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who became a Union Army general and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American Civil War. His nicknames "Bull" or "Bul ...
(
II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
; Sumner's old Division under BG
Israel B. Richardson
Israel Bush Richardson (December 26, 1815 – November 3, 1862) was a United States Army officer during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army. Nicknamed "Fighting Dick" for his prowess on ...
, Sedgwick's Division: BG
John Sedgwick and Blenker's Division:
Louis Blenker
Louis Blenker (July 31, 1812 – October 31, 1863) was a German revolutionary and American soldier.
Life in Germany
He was born at Worms, Germany. After being trained as a goldsmith by an uncle in Kreuznach, he was sent to a polytechnical s ...
.), BG
Samuel P. Heintzelman
Samuel Peter Heintzelman (September 30, 1805 – May 1, 1880) was a United States Army general. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, the Yuma War and the Cortina Troubles. During the American Civil War he was a prominent figu ...
(
III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to:
France
* 3rd Army Corps (France)
* III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...
; Porter's Division: BG
Fitz John Porter
Fitz John Porter (August 31, 1822 – May 21, 1901) (sometimes written FitzJohn Porter or Fitz-John Porter) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Sec ...
, Hooker's Division: BG
Joseph Hooker and Heintzelman's old Division under BG
Charles S. Hamilton
Charles Samuel Hamilton (born 1952) is a retired award-winning rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Hamilton is a native of Amityville, New York, and graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in May 1974. He was c ...
), BG
Erasmus D. Keyes (
IV Corps; Keyes' old Division under BG
Darius N. Couch
Darius Nash Couch (July 23, 1822 – February 12, 1897) was an American soldier, businessman, and naturalist. He served as a career U.S. Army officer during the Mexican–American War, the Second Seminole War, and as a general officer in the Uni ...
, Smith's Division: BG
William F. Smith and Casey's Division: BG
Silas Casey), MG
Nathaniel P. Banks
Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...
(
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to:
France
* 5th Army Corps (France)
* V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...
would later become the
XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to:
* 12th Army Corps (France)
* XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army
* XII (Ro ...
; Banks' old Division under BG
Alpheus S. Williams
Alpheus Starkey Williams (September 20, 1810 – December 21, 1878) was a lawyer, judge, journalist, U.S. Congressman, and a Union Army, Union general in the American Civil War.
Early life
Williams was born in Deep River, Connecticut. He gradua ...
, Shield's Division: BG
James Shields and a Cavalry Division under BG
John P. Hatch
John Porter Hatch (January 9, 1822 – April 12, 1901) was a career United States, American soldier who served as general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He received a Medal of Honor for gallantry in action at the September 1862 ...
). The five highest-ranking officers division commanders in the army, McClellan was not happy with this, as he had intended to wait until the army had been tested in battle before judging which generals were suitable for corps command.
After the
Battle of Williamsburg
The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitc ...
on May 5, McClellan requested and obtained permission to create two additions corps; these became the V Corps, headed by BG Fitz-John Porter, and the VI Corps, headed by BG William B. Franklin, both personal favorites of his. After the Battle of Kernstown in the Valley on March 23, the administration became paranoid about
"Stonewall" Jackson's activities there and the potential danger they posed to Washington D.C., and to McClellan's displeasure, detached Blenker's division from the II Corps and sent it to West Virginia to serve under
John C. Fremont
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
's command. McDowell's corps was detached as well and stationed in the Rappahannock area.
In June 1862, George McCall's division from McDowell's corps (the
Pennsylvania Reserves
The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam a ...
Division) was sent down to the Peninsula and temporarily attached to the V Corps. In the Seven Days Battles, the V Corps was heavily engaged. The Pennsylvania Reserves, in particular, suffered heavy losses including its division commander, who was captured by the Confederates, and two of its three brigadiers (
John F. Reynolds
John Fulton Reynolds (September 21, 1820 – July 1, 1863)Eicher, pp. 450-51. was a career United States Army officer and a general in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, he played a key role in commi ...
, also captured, and
George Meade, who was wounded). The III Corps fought at Glendale, however, the rest of the army was not heavily engaged in the week-long fight aside from Slocum's division of the VI Corps, which was sent to reinforce the V Corps at Gaines Mill.
The Army of the Potomac remained on the Virginia Peninsula until August, when it was recalled back to Washington D.C. Keyes and one of the two IV Corps divisions were left behind permanently as part of the newly created Department of the James, while the other division, commanded by Brig. Gen Darius Couch was attached to the VI Corps.
During the Second Battle of Bull Run, the III and V Corps were temporarily attached to Pope's army; the former suffered major losses and was sent back to Washington to rest and refit afterward, so it did not participate in the Maryland Campaign. The V Corps attracted controversy during the battle when Fitz-John Porter failed to execute Pope's orders properly and attack Stonewall Jackson's flank despite his protests that James Longstreet's troops were blocking the way. Pope blamed the loss at Second Bull Run on Porter, who was court-martialed and spent much of his life attempting to get himself exonerated. Sigel's command, now redesignated the XI Corps, also spent the Maryland Campaign in Washington resting and refitting.
In the Maryland Campaign, the Army of the Potomac had six corps. These were the I Corps, commanded by Joe Hooker after Irvin McDowell was removed from command, the II Corps, commanded by Edwin Sumner, the V Corps, headed by Fitz-John Porter, the VI Corps, headed by William Franklin, the IX Corps, headed by Ambrose Burnside and formerly the Department of North Carolina, and the XII Corps, headed by Nathaniel Banks until September 12, and given to Joseph K. Mansfield just two days prior to Antietam, where he was killed in action.
At Antietam, the I and XII Corps were the first Union outfits to fight and both corps suffered enormous casualties (plus the loss of their commanders) so that they were down to near-division strength and their brigades at regimental strength after the battle was over. The II and IX Corps were also heavily engaged but the V and VI Corps largely stayed out of the battle.
When Burnside took over command of the army from McClellan in the fall, he formed the army into four Grand Divisions. The Right Grand Division was commanded by Edwin Sumner and comprised the II and XI Corps, the Center Grand Division, commanded by Joe Hooker, comprised the V and III Corps, and the Left Grand Division, commanded by William Franklin, comprised the VI and I Corps. In addition, the Reserve Grand Division, commanded by Franz Sigel, comprised the XI and XII Corps.
At Fredericksburg, the I Corps was commanded by John F. Reynolds, the II Corps by Darius Couch, the III Corps by George Stoneman, the V Corps by Daniel Butterfield, the VI Corps by William F. Smith, and the IX Corps by Orlando Willcox. The XI Corps was commanded by Franz Sigel and the XII Corps by Henry Slocum, however, neither corps was present at Fredericksburg, the former not arriving until after the battle was over, and the latter was stationed at Harper's Ferry.
Following Fredericksburg, Burnside was removed from command of the army and replaced by Joe Hooker. Hooker immediately abolished the Grand Divisions and also for the first time organized the cavalry into a proper corps led by George Stoneman instead of having them ineffectually scattered among infantry divisions. Burnside and his old IX Corps departed out to a command in the Western Theater. The I, II, and XII Corps retained the same commanders they had had during the Fredericksburg campaign, but the other corps got new commanders once again. Daniel Butterfield was chosen by Hooker as his new chief of staff and command of the V Corps went to George Meade. Daniel Sickles received command of the III Corps and Oliver Howard the XI Corps after Franz Sigel had resigned, refusing to serve under Hooker, his junior in rank. William Franklin also left the army for the same reason. Edwin Sumner, who was in his 60s and exhausted from campaigning, departed as well and died a few months later. William F. Smith resigned from command of the VI Corps, which was taken over by John Sedgwick. The I and V Corps were not significantly engaged during the Chancellorsville campaign.
During the Gettysburg Campaign, the army's existing organization was largely retained, but a number of brigades composed of short-term nine-month regiments departed as their enlistment terms expired. Darius Couch resigned from command of the II Corps after Chancellorsville, the corps going to Winfield Hancock. The Pennsylvania Reserves Division, having spent several months in Washington D.C. resting and refitting from the 1862 campaigns, returned to the army, but was added to the V Corps rather than rejoining the I Corps. George Stoneman had been removed from command of the cavalry corps by Hooker after a poor performance during the Chancellorsville campaign and replaced by Alfred Pleasanton.
George Meade was suddenly appointed the commander of the army on June 28, a mere three days before the battle of Gettysburg. At the battle, the I, II, and III Corps suffered such severe losses that they were almost nonfunctional as fighting units at the end. One corps commander (Reynolds) was killed, another (Sickles) lost a leg and was permanently out of the war, and a third (Hancock) was badly wounded and never completely recovered from his injuries. The VI Corps had not been significantly engaged and was mostly used to plug up holes in the line during the battle.
For the remainder of the war, corps were added and subtracted from the army. IV Corps was broken up after the Peninsula Campaign, with its headquarters and 2nd Division left behind in Yorktown, while its 1st Division moved north, attached to the VI Corps, in the Maryland Campaign. Those parts of the IV Corps that remained on the Peninsula were reassigned to the Department of Virginia and disbanded on October 1, 1863. Those added to the Army of the Potomac were
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to:
France
* 9th Army Corps (France)
* IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...
,
XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to:
* 11th Army Corps (France)
* XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* XI ...
(
Sigel's I Corps in the former
Army of Virginia),
XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to:
* 12th Army Corps (France)
* XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army
* XII (Ro ...
(
Banks's
Marston's plc is a British pub and hotel operator. Founded by John Marston in 1834, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Marston's disposed of its brewing operations in 2020, selling the assets to a newly formed joint venture with the Ca ...
II Corps from the
Army of Virginia), added in 1862; and the
Cavalry Corps, created in 1863. Eight of these corps (seven infantry, one cavalry) served in the army during 1863, but due to attrition and transfers, the army was reorganized in March 1864 with only four corps: II, V, VI, and Cavalry. Of the original eight, I and III Corps were disbanded due to heavy casualties and their units combined into other corps. The XI and XII Corps were ordered to the West in late 1863 to support the
Chattanooga Campaign, and while there were combined into the XX Corps, never returning to the East.
The IX Corps returned to the army in 1864, after being assigned to the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
in 1863 and then served alongside, but not as part of, the Army of the Potomac from March to May 24, 1864. On that latter date, IX Corps was formally added to the Army of the Potomac. Two divisions of the Cavalry Corps have transferred in August 1864 to Maj. Gen.
Philip Sheridan
General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...
's
Army of the Shenandoah, and the 2nd Division alone remained under Meade's command. On March 26, 1865, that division was also assigned to Sheridan for the closing campaigns of the war.
[Welcher, pp. 536, 540.]
Commanders
*Brigadier General
Irvin McDowell: Commander of the Army and Department of Northeastern Virginia (May 27 – July 25, 1861)
*Major General
George B. McClellan: Commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, and later, the Army and Department of the Potomac (July 26, 1861 – November 9, 1862)
*Major General
Ambrose E. Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...
: Commander of the Army of the Potomac (November 9, 1862 – January 26, 1863)
*Major General
Joseph Hooker: Commander of the Army and Department of the Potomac (January 26 – June 28, 1863)
*Major General
George G. Meade: Commander of the Army of the Potomac† (June 28, 1863 – June 28, 1865)
†Major General
John G. Parke
John Grubb Parke (September 22, 1827 – December 16, 1900) was a United States Army engineer and a Union general in the American Civil War. Parke's Civil War service was closely associated with Ambrose E. Burnside, often serving him as chi ...
took brief temporary command during Meade's absences on four occasions during this period)
Lt. Gen.
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star rank, three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in ...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, general-in-chief of all Union armies, located his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac and provided operational direction to Meade from May 1864 to April 1865, but Meade retained command of the Army of the Potomac.
Major battles and campaigns
*
First Bull Run Campaign
The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas or First Manassas: McDowell (as "Army of Northeastern Virginia")
*
Peninsula Campaign, including the
Seven Days Battles: McClellan
*
Northern Virginia Campaign, including the
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...
(I, XI, XII Corps participated under the control of the
Army of Virginia)
*
Maryland Campaign, including the
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
or Sharpsburg: McClellan
*
Fredericksburg Campaign
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsid ...
: Burnside
*
Chancellorsville Campaign: Hooker
*
Gettysburg Campaign: Hooker/Meade (Meade appointed June 28, 1863)
*
Bristoe Campaign: Meade
*
Mine Run Campaign: Meade
*
Overland Campaign: Grant/Meade
*
Richmond–Petersburg Campaign, including the
Battle of the Crater
The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...
: Grant/Meade
*
Appomattox Campaign, including Lee's surrender at
Appomattox Court House Appomattox Court House could refer to:
* The village of Appomattox Court House, now the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, in central Virginia (U.S.), where Confederate army commander Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union commander Ulyss ...
: Grant/Meade
Casualties breakdown
Below is the grand recapitulation of the losses sustained by the Army of the Potomac and the
Army of the James
The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.
Histor ...
, from May 5, 1864 to April 9, 1865, compiled in the Adjutant-General's Office, Washington:
Notes
References
* Beatie, Russel H. ''Army of the Potomac: Birth of Command, November 1860 – September 1861''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. .
* Beatie, Russel H. ''Army of the Potomac: McClellan Takes Command, September 1861 – February 1862''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2004. .
* Beatie, Russel H. ''Army of the Potomac: McClellan's First Campaign, March – May 1862''. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. .
* Eicher, John H., and
Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .
* Welcher, Frank J. ''The Union Army, 1861–1865 Organization and Operations''. Vol. 1, ''The Eastern Theater''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. .
Further reading
*
Chamberlain, Joshua L. ''
The Passing of the Armies
''The Passing of the Armies'', full title ''The Passing of the Armies; An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army of the Potomac, Based Upon Personal Reminiscences of the Fifth Army Corps''The full title of the book is ''The Passing of the Armie ...
: An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army of the Potomac''. New York: Bantam Books, 1993. . First published in 1915 by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
* Sears, Stephen W. ''Lincoln's Lieutenants: The High Command of the Army of the Potomac'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017), xii, 884 pp.
* Taaffe, Stephen R. ''Commanding the Army of the Potomac''. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2006. .
External links
Army Organization during the Civil War*
*
{{Authority control
Potomac, Army of the
Military units and formations established in 1861
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865
Virginia in the American Civil War
1861 establishments in Virginia
1865 disestablishments in the United States