| Army of the Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| Active | February 23, 1862 - October 1863 |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Field Army |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
Army of the Mississippi was the name given to two Union armies that operated around the Mississippi River, both with short existences, during the American Civil War.
The first army was created on February 23, 1862, with Maj. Gen. John Pope in command. At its creation, the army consisted of 2 divisions of infantry for service along the Mississippi River. When General Pope began to move against New Madrid, Missouri, the army was expanded with units from neighboring military districts. The army now totaled 5 divisions commanded respectively by David S. Stanley, Schuyler Hamilton, John M. Palmer, Eleazar A. Paine and Joseph B. Plummer. Gordon Granger commanded the Cavalry Division of two regiments and Napoleon B. Buford commanded the "Flotilla Brigade". In this capacity the Army fought at the Battle of Island Number Ten.
After the capture of Island No. Ten, the army's divisions were consolidated into 3 divisions and became the "Left Wing" of Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck's Western Army Group. General Jefferson C. Davis's division from the Army of the Southwest was added, becoming the 4th Division. During the Siege of Corinth the Army of the Mississippi was consolidated into two wings of two divisions each. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans commanded the "Left Wing" (1st and 2nd Divisions) and Brig. Gen. Schuyler Hamilton commanded the "Right Wing" (3rd and 4th Divisions). After the capture of Corinth, Pope was sent east to command the Army of Virginia and Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans assumed command of the Army of the Mississippi. The army was posted to the city of Corinth. Its position there was strengthened by two divisions from the Army of West Tennessee and fought at the battles of Iuka and Corinth. Rosecrans was transferred to command of the Army of the Ohio and the current army was discontinued in October 1862 and the regiments were dispersed between the XIII Corps and XIV Corps.
In 1863 Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand was put in command of the expedition against down the Mississippi. He was given command of two corps from the Army of the Tennessee, his own XIII Corps led by Brig. Gen. George W. Morgan and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's XV Corps. McClernand named his force the "Army of the Mississippi" and redesignated the XIII Corps the I Corps, Army of the Mississippi, and the XV Corps became the II Corps, Army of the Mississippi. McClernand was successful in capturing Arkansas Post. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant did not like McClernand and after Sherman and Admiral Andrew H. Foote both voiced their opinions that McClernand was unfit to command, Grant personally took command of the expedition against Vicksburg and the old XIII Corps and XV Corps were returned to the Army of the Tennessee on January 12, 1863.
1862
| Commander | From | To | Major Battles and Campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brigadier General John Pope | February 23, 1862 | June 26, 1862 | New Madrid, Island No. 10, Siege of Corinth |
| Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans | June 26, 1862 | 24 October 1862 | Iuka, Corinth |
1863
| Commander | From | To | Major Battles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major General John A. McClernand | January 4, 1863 | January 12, 1863 | Arkansas Post |
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It was the first major battle of the war fought in Georgia and the most significant US defeat in the Western Theater, and it involved the second-highest number of casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg.
The siege of Vicksburg 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 the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, leading to the successful siege and Confederate surrender.
The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. The battle ended in Union victory after the Confederate army's withdrawal on January 3, largely due to a series of tactical miscalculations by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, but the victory was costly for the Union army. Nevertheless, it was an important victory for the Union because it provided a much-needed boost in morale after the Union's recent defeat at Fredericksburg and also reinforced President Abraham Lincoln's foundation for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which ultimately discouraged European powers from intervening on the Confederacy's behalf.
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The Army of the Tennessee was a 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 of the war—Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, and Atlanta" and "won the decisive battles in the decisive theater of the war."
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.
The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.
XIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was first led by Ulysses S. Grant and later by John A. McClernand and Edward O.C. Ord. It served in the Western Theater of civil war, Trans-Mississippi Theater and along the Gulf of Mexico.
The XVI Army Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The corps rarely fought as a single unit, as its divisions were often scattered across the country.
XVII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized December 18, 1862 as part of Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee. It was most notably commanded by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson and Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair II, and served in the Western Theater.
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The Battle of Iuka was fought on September 19, 1862, in Iuka, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. In the opening battle of the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans stopped the advance of the Confederate Army of the West commanded by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price.
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states, except for Mobile Bay, are considered part of the Lower Seaboard Theater. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains are part of the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater.
John McArthur was a Union general during the American Civil War. McArthur became one of the most capable Federal commanders in the Western Theater.
The following units and commanders of the Union Army fought at the Siege of Corinth of the American Civil War. The Union Army had approximately 150,000 present for duty. The Confederate order of battle is shown separately. Order of battle compiled from the army organization during the siege.
The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg besieged Rosecrans and his men by occupying key high terrain around Chattanooga, Tennessee. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was given command of Union forces in the West which was now consolidated under the Division of the Mississippi. Significant reinforcements also began to arrive with him in Chattanooga from Mississippi and the Eastern Theater. On October 18, Grant removed Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland and replaced him with Major General George Henry Thomas.
The 39th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 54th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. They wore Zouave uniforms that were identical to those of the 34th Ohio Infantry Regiment
On the onset of the American Civil War in April 1861, Ulysses S. Grant was working as a clerk in his father's leather goods store in Galena, Illinois. When the war began, his military experience was needed, and congressman Elihu B. Washburne became his patron in political affairs and promotions in Illinois and nationwide.
