XVII Corps was a corps of the

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 of the collective states. It proved essential to the ...

during the American Civil War. It was organized December 18, 1862 as part of Ulysses S. Grant's

Army of the Tennessee An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. It was most notably commanded by Maj. Gen.

James B. McPherson James Birdseye McPherson (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McPherson was on the General's staff of Henry Halleck and late ...

and Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair II, and served in the Western Theater.

Creation

In October 1862 the XIII Corps and

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during Worl ...

were created in the Western Theater. At the time it was created the XIII Corps constituted the entire Army of the Tennessee under Ulysses S. Grant. Initially Grant subdivided the corps into the Right, Left and Center wings. Major General James B. McPherson led the Center of the XIII Corps. On December 18, 1862 the XIII Corps was officially divided. The Center officially became the XVII Corps with McPherson still in command and was originally composed of three divisions under

John A. Logan John Alexander Logan (February 9, 1826 – December 26, 1886) was an American soldier and politician. He served in the Mexican–American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a s ...

, John McArthur, and Isaac F. Quinby.

Vicksburg Campaign

Grant's

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi R ...

was the XVII Corps' first operation. It fought the

Battle of Raymond The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg failed. Be ...

and captured

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, ...

alongside

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I * XV Royal Ba ...

. On May 16, 1863 it bore the brunt of the fighting in the

Battle of Champion Hill The Battle of Champion Hill of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union army, Union Army commander Major general (United States), Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of ...

. During the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mis ...

, it formed the center of the Union forces.

Chattanooga and Meridian

While most of the XVII Corps was left in Mississippi, William T. Sherman took the 2nd Division, led by Brig. Gen. John E. Smith, to help in lifting the siege of Chattanooga. Two of Smith's brigades (led by Green Berry Raum and Karl Leopold Matthies) took a significant part in the

Battle of Missionary Ridge The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces in the Military Division of ...

. In the winter of 1863–1864 Sherman returned to Vicksburg to lead the Meridian campaign. McPherson led the corps during the campaign. Only the 3rd and 4th Divisions and the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division took part (the 2nd Division still being at Chattanooga).

Atlanta Campaign

In 1864 General McPherson assumed command of the Army of the Tennessee and for a short time no officer was appointed to command the corps. Eventually Major General Francis P. Blair, Jr. took command. Sherman transferred the rest of the corps to Georgia to take part in the Atlanta campaign. Only the 3rd and 4th Divisions took part in the campaign and these divisions missed much of the early battles but played a major role in the

Battle of Kennesaw Mountain The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the most significant frontal assault launched by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman against the Confederate Army of Te ...

and the Battle of Atlanta. The 3rd Division under Mortimer D. Leggett had a particularly hard fight on Bald Hill. Bald Hill would be renamed Leggett's Hill in honor of the division commander. After the fall of Atlanta, General Blair took a leave of absence from the army and General Thomas E. G. Ransom commanded the XVII Corps. When Ransom died of exposure during the pursuit of John Bell Hood's army Blair returned shortly after to command of the corps.

March to the Sea and the Carolinas

Blair led the corps during the March to the Sea and took part in the capture of Savannah, Georgia. The XVII Corps fought exclusively in the Battle of Salkehatchie River, where two of Blair's brigade defeated a Confederate force attempting to block Sherman's crossing of the river. Blair and the corps were present at the Battle of Bentonville but did not take an active part in the fighting.

Red River Division

One division formerly part of the XVII Corps was dubbed the Red River Division or the Provisional Division and was attached to the Right Wing-XVI Corps under Andrew J. Smith. The division was led by Thomas K. Smith and fought in many of the important battles during Red River Campaign. The Red River Division moved to Nashville. It was again attached to A.J. Smith's command only this time it was styled the 3rd Division of the "Detachment of the Army of the Tennessee". The division was led by Colonel Jonathan B. Moore and was lightly engaged at the

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, ...

Command history

References

External links

XVII Corps history
{{Union Army Formations 17 Military units and formations established in 1862 1862 establishments in the United States Military units and formations disestablished in 1865