Third Corps, Army Of Tennessee
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The Third Corps was a designation used by several military formations in the
Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. In practice, most Confederate corps were referred to by their commanders' name and not by numerical designation. In its various forms, the Third Corps served under William J. Hardee,
Edmund Kirby Smith Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate States Army Four-star rank, general, who oversaw the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western L ...
,
Simon Bolivar Buckner Simon Bolivar Buckner ( ; April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was an American soldier, Confederate military officer, and politician. He fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War. He later fought in the Confederate State ...
,
Leonidas Polk Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was a Confederate general, a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and founder of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, which separat ...
, and Alexander P. Stewart.


Formation

The corps was originally formed by the re-designation of Major General William Hardee's division from the Central Army of Kentucky, also known as the Army of Central Kentucky, into a corps. Having previously served in Kentucky and Tennessee, Hardee's division was marched to Corinth in the personal accompaniment of General
Albert Sidney Johnston General officer, General Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) was an American military officer who served as a general officer in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States ...
as part of a strategic Confederate concentration leading up to the
Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...
. On March 23, 1862, Hardee's men arrived in Corinth where they joined other Confederates under the command of General
P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...
. When these forces were consolidated into a single army titled Army of the Mississippi, Hardee's division was designated the Third Corps. This "corps" remained a division in structure, consisting of three brigades under Brigadier Generals Thomas Hindman,
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 ...
, and S.A.M. Wood. Additionally, an artillery battalion of three Arkansas batteries under Major Francis Shoup was also attached to the corps. Hardee's effective force numbered 6,789 and was the smallest of the four corps in the army. Hardee's corps was selected to lead one of the two Confederate columns in the march from Corinth. The army would concentrate at Mickey's farmhouse and then launch an attack upon
Grant's Grant's is a blended whisky, blended Scotch whisky, produced by the company William Grant & Sons in Scotland. It is the world's third highest selling Scotch whisky. History In 1886, William Grant (businessman), William Grant started working ...
Army of the Tennessee The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army, Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. A 2005 study of the army states that it "was present at most of the great battles that became turning points ...
encamped at Pittsburgh Landing on April 4. Hardee was to move his corps up along the Ridge Road, followed by the First Corps under Major General Leonidas Polk. However, Hardee's and Polk's troops became inter-tangled in the streets of Corinth, delaying the march. Though they had departed in the morning, it was late into the afternoon by the time the last of Hardee's corps had left Corinth. Poor staff work combined with muddy roads and conditions delayed the march, and thus the attack, well past the April 4th target date. It was not until the morning of April 6th that the Confederates were into position to make the attack. Largely because of its position at the head of the line of march and camp, Hardee's corps found itself at the spearhead of the attack on the morning of April 6th. Hardee's corps deployed in single line of battle arrayed from left to right; Cleburne's brigade on the left resting near Widow Howell field, Wood's brigade in the center, and Hindman's brigade under the temporary command of Colonel Robert Shaver on the right. To extend Hardee's frontage, Brigadier General Adley H. Gladden's brigade was attached to Hardee from Major General
Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...
's Second Corps and posted on Shaver's right. With this additional brigade, Hardee decided to form his corps into two temporary divisions; the first under Hindman and consisting of Wood's brigade and his own under Shaver. The second division consisted of Cleburne's and Gladden's brigades and reported directly to Hardee himself. The rest of Bragg's corps deployed in a single line of battle behind Hardee's corps, with Polk's corps in column of march behind Bragg's corps, and Breckinridge's corps bringing up the rear. Thus it was Hardee's corps that became the first Confederates engaged in the Battle of Shiloh when a Federal patrol under Major James Powell from Colonel Everett Peabody's brigade stumbled into a cavalry outposts and pickets from Major Aaron Hardcastle's 3rd Mississippi Battalion of Wood's brigade. This skirmish lasted for about an hour before Powell's Federals fell back. In the meanwhile, the Confederate offensive began. In the initial advance, the elements of the corps became separated, with Hindman's two brigades and Gladden advancing towards the northeast and right into the camps of Brigadier General
Benjamin Prentiss Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss (November 23, 1819 – February 8, 1901) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the Mexican–American War and on the Union side of the American Civil War, rising to the rank of major general. He command ...
's 6th Division, while Cleburne's brigade advanced more northerly and to left, into the camps of Brigadier General
William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
's 5th Division. Russell's brigade of Polk's corps advanced to fill the gap in between the two widening segments of the corps. It was a similar story elsewhere, and before long the Confederate advance had lost organization, with mixed units of different corps forming ad-hoc commands and advancing without regard to table of organization. Cleburne's brigade advanced Sherman's position, with his skirmishers of the 15th Arkansas and 6th Mississippi wounding an unsuspecting Sherman in the hand and killing his aide Private Thomas Holliday. However, Cleburne's attack became bogged down in the marshy terrain, briars, and lowground in front of Sherman's position, and his men suffered significant casualties in the attack. Notably, the 6th Mississippi, which started the battle with 425 officers and men, suffered more than 300 casualties in this attack alone.Cunningham, P. 175. The corps was later engaged at Bloody Pond and assisted Breckinridge's Reserve Corps in the rearguard. Fighting at Corinth, the corps served successfully for a few more months until the four corps of the Army of the Mississippi were consolidated and the corps discontinued. The brigades which made up the corps later constituted a division under Simon Buckner, and then more famously, Patrick Cleburne.


1862 recreation

The Third Corps was re-constituted four more times following its abolition. First it was re-constituted when Edmund Kirby Smith's command from East Tennessee was attached to the
Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...
. Kirby Smith's corps consisted of Carter Stevenson's division, the largest at 10,000 men, John McCown's division of 5,500,
Henry Heth Henry Heth ( not ) (December 16, 1825 – September 27, 1899) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Eastern theater of the American Civil War, Eastern Theater of the American ...
commanded a division of 4,500 men and lastly Thomas Churchill commanded a division of 6,500 men all in all 26,500. The corps never was fully engaged in any major battle, at
Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...
the corps was lightly engaged. The corps would have fought at Stones River but Stevenson's division was ordered to Vicksburg, Heth and Churchill went to
Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
which left only John McCown and his small division. This proved to be a key factor in the battle and many say if
Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...
had Smith and his four divisions, he may have won decisively, not only tactically. With that, the corps broke up. McCown was assigned to Hardee's corps, and thus his division became a permanent part of the Army of Tennessee. Stevenson's division remained at Vicksburg, the remaining divisions were put under new departments and thus the corps was abolished. The corps was again reconstituted for was at 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 Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
. With so many of the Army of Tennessee's units at Vicksburg area, the garrison seemed like part of their own army and additionally nearly the entire garrison fought with the Army of Tennessee sometime or another. The Corps consisted of Forney's division, 4,500 men, Martin Smith's division with another 6,500, William Loring's division of 6,000 more, John Bowen's division of 6,000 and Carter Stevenson's division of 10,000. The Corps all in all numbered 33,000 men. The Corps fought at
Champion Hill Champion Hill is a association football, football stadium in East Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark. It is the home ground of Dulwich Hamlet F.C., Dulwich Hamlet. History Dulwich Hamlet began playing at the ground in 1912. 'The Hill' ...
, and the siege itself. Loring and his division broke out and later on served in two other Third Corps but the rest of the 'Corps', usually known as the
Army of Mississippi There were three formations known as the Army of Mississippi in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. This name is contrasted against Army of ''the'' Mississippi, which was a Union Army named for the Mississippi River, no ...
, surrendered on July 4. A Third Corps (although seldom so-called) was again re-constituted under Joseph Johnston during the Vicksburg campaign. The corps contained many troops from both the Army of Mississippi and the Army of Tennessee. The corps contained Loring's division after it broke out, 6,000, Wallker's division from Charleston with 10,000, John Breckinridge from the Army of Tennessee with 10,000 more, Jackson's division from the Army of Tennessee with 6,000 and finally a command of five disorganized brigades numbering 10,000 more. All in all 42,000 men at its height. This Corps though was dispersed and then was abolished though its fragments later became part of another III corps. The corps was reconstituted again during the Chickamauga Campaign. Braxton Bragg created an additional corps for the Army of Tennessee by consolidating Simon Buckner's command from the Department of East Tennessee into his army. Buckner's corps consisted of three divisions: Alexander P. Stewart's division with 4,500 men, William Preston's division with 5,000 men, and a provisional division under Bushrod Johnson with 6,000 more. Johnson's division was detached to operate with Longstreet's corps at Chickamauga however, and was broken up shortly after the battle.


Final reappearance

The Third Corps was re-raised for a fifth and final time. It was organized after the battle of
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...
when
Leonidas Polk Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was a Confederate general, a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and founder of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, which separat ...
's
Army of Mississippi There were three formations known as the Army of Mississippi in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. This name is contrasted against Army of ''the'' Mississippi, which was a Union Army named for the Mississippi River, no ...
went east to join the
Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...
in the Atlanta Campaign. It contained divisions under William Loring with 6,500 men, veterans from the
Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were 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 ...
. It also contained a division of 7,500 under
Samuel French Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing A license (American Englis ...
from Mississippi and finally 6,000 men from Mobile under general Cantey (later under Walthall). All in all, 20,000 men. This corps took the right flank of the Army of Tennessee at
Rocky Face Ridge The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge was fought May 7–13, 1864, in Whitfield County, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union army was led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and the Confederate army by Gen ...
and the left flank at Resaca. Polk's corps also fought also at Pine Mountain where Polk was killed. The command switched hands five times during the campaign, first to W.W. Loring for the rest of the battle, but then Alexander P. Stewart took command briefly. Stewart's corps fought heavily at Peachtree Creek, where it broke through
George Henry Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War, and despite be ...
's lines. At Atlanta the corps was in reserve. Soon after, Stewart's corps took part in the
Battle of Ezra Church The Battle of Ezra Church (July 28, 1864), also known as the Battle of Ezra Chapel and the Battle of the Poor House saw Union Army forces under Major General William T. Sherman fight Confederate States Army troops led by Lieutenant General J ...
, where Walthall's division was committed in an attack to support Lee's corps. The attack failed, and Stewart and division commander Loring were wounded the fighting. Stewart's corps also not take part in the Jonesboro. The corps, while the smallest in the army suffered the least between the three Corps.


Franklin–Nashville

When army commander
John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the decision to replace ...
invaded
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 ...
, Stewart's corps went with it. It fought heavily at Allatoona Pass, and assaulted the Union left at the disastrous
Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
. Suffering heavy losses, the corps was merely a large division once it arrived at
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. Stewart's corps was on the left flank for the first part of the battle, where it suffered heavily. It was later transferred to the center where it suffered lightly by muskets but fled the field. The corps went to the Carolinas afterwards, fighting at the
Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last ...
. It surrendered with the rest of the army.


Notes


References

*Cunningham, Edward O.. ''Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862''. New York, New York: Savas Beatie LLC, 2007.


Further reading

* Stanley Fitzgerald Horn (1941).
The Army of Tennessee
'. University of Oklahoma Press, reprinted in 1993. 503 pages. , {{ISBN, 978-0-8061-2565-7. 1862 establishments in the Confederate States of America Corps of the Confederate States Army