The First Corps, Army of Tennessee, commonly known as Polk's Corps, Cheatham's Corps, or Hardee's Corps, was a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the Army of Tennessee.

Formation

Units of the First Corps, Army of Tennessee, were drawn from the organization of Department No. 2 (or the Western Department) of the

Confederate army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, which held responsibility for defending the area between the

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. It also incorporated troops transferred from the Army of Mississippi.

History

Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk commanded the corps from November 26, 1862, and held it with minor interruptions until his relief on September 29, 1863, and subsequent arrest on October 23, 1863.Eicher, p. 890. It participated in the Tennessee Campaign (June to October 1863) under General Braxton Bragg. Major engagements under General Polk included Stones River (from December 1862 until January 1863) and Chickamauga (in September 1863). Major-General Benjamin F. Cheatham commanded the corps four times; during the periods September 29 to October 23, 1863, from December 2 to 27, 1863, then August 31 to September 2, 1864, and lastly from September 28, 1864 to February 23, 1865. This last posting was the only period which he was not in "temporary" command. Major-General

Patrick Cleburne Major general, Major-General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne ( ; March 16, 1828November 30, 1864) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer in the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, West ...

was also in temporary command the corps from August 31 to September 1, 1864. Lieutenant-General William J. Hardee commanded the corps four times; during the periods October 23 to December 2, 1863, again from December 27 to August 31, 1864, a third time from September 2 to 28, 1864, and lastly from February 23 to April 26, 1865. On that date the corps, along with the rest of the Army of Tennessee, were surrendered by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.Eicher, pp. 890-1.

Structure

* On October 31, 1863, part of Third Corps was added. * On November 4, 1863, the "Reserve Corps" of the army was added. * On April 10, 1865, all remaining forces in the state of Georgia were added.Eicher, p. 891.

Commanding officers

File:Portrait of General Leonidas Polk, C.S.A.jpg, Lieut. Gen. Leonidas Polk File:Benjamin F. Cheatham 05989v.jpg, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham File:Patrick Cleburne.jpg, Maj. Gen.

( acting) File:William J. Hardee.jpg, Lieut. Gen. William J. Hardee

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford Univ. Press, 2001, . {{Authority control 1862 establishments in the Confederate States of America 1865 disestablishments in North Carolina Corps of the Confederate States Army Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865