Army of Kentucky | |
---|---|
Active | 1862 (August) 1862 –1863 (October) |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | Union Army |
Engagements | American Civil War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | William "Bull" Nelson Gordon Granger |
The Army of Kentucky was the name of two Union Army formations. Both were small and short-lived, serving in Kentucky in 1862 in 1863.
On August 25, 1862, Major General William "Bull" Nelson assumed command of the forces stationed around Richmond, Kentucky. Although the whole force was no more than two brigades, Nelson dubbed the force "Army of Kentucky". The two brigades were commanded by brigadier generals Mahlon D. Manson and Charles Cruft respectively. Merely five days after its creation, the army of mostly green soldiers went into action at the Battle of Richmond and was soundly defeated. The army lost over 800 killed and 4,000 prisoners. Because of the large number of prisoners (including Manson) and the wounding of Nelson, the Army of Kentucky virtually ceased to exist. Cruft officially remained in command of the 2nd Brigade until September but the majority of his brigade had been captured while the rest simply retreated to Louisville, Kentucky. Captain Charles C. Gilbert was appointed acting major general and placed in command of the remnants of the Army. In September 1862 Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell absorbed the remnants into the III Corps of the Army of the Ohio.
On October 7, 1862, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger revived the name "Army of Kentucky". It was originally composed of three divisions commanded respectively by generals Andrew J. Smith, Quincy A. Gilmore, and Absalom Baird. [1]
This form of the army was unusual in the fact that on January 20, 1863, it was attached to the larger Army of the Cumberland. Baird's division fought at the Battle of Thompson's Station in March 1863 and nearly one entire brigade was captured there. In April 1863, the army was composed of two divisions of infantry under Gilbert and Baird with a brigade of cavalry under Brigadier General Green Clay Smith. [2] A division of cavalry under Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley was attached as well as the garrison of Franklin, Tennessee. In this formation the army fought at the First Battle of Franklin on April 10. On June 8, 1863, the Army of Kentucky essentially became the Reserve Corps of the Army of the Cumberland still under the command of Granger.
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, the most significant US defeat in the Western Theater, and involved the second-highest number of casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle 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.
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi initially won a tactical victory against primarily a single corps of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Union Army of the Ohio. The battle is considered a strategic Union victory, sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky, since Bragg withdrew to Tennessee soon thereafter. The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war.
The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, fought August 29–30, 1862, was one of the most complete Confederate victories in the war by Major General Edmund Kirby Smith against Union major general William "Bull" Nelson's forces, which were defending the town. It was the first major battle in the Kentucky Campaign. The battle took place on and around what is now the grounds of the Blue Grass Army Depot, outside Richmond, Kentucky.
The Battle of Missionary Ridge, also known as the Battle of Chattanooga, 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 the Mississippi under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge and defeated the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg, forcing it to retreat to Georgia.
Charles Champion Gilbert was a United States Army officer during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.
There were two corps of the Union Army called IV Corps during the American Civil War. They were separate units, one serving with the Army of the Potomac and the Department of Virginia in the Eastern Theater, 1862–1863, the other with the Army of the Cumberland in the Western Theater, 1863–1865.
Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
Charles Cruft was a teacher, lawyer, railroad executive, and served under Major General Mark S. Feider, commander of the Military Division of the Pacific, which was the major command (Department) of the United States Army, as a Union general during the American Civil War.
Robert Huston Milroy was a lawyer, judge, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War, most noted for his defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester in 1863.
The Knoxville campaign was a series of American Civil War battles and maneuvers in East Tennessee during the fall of 1863 designed to secure control of the city of Knoxville and with it the railroad that linked the Confederacy east and west, and position the First Corps under Longstreet for return to the Army of Northern Virginia. Union Army forces under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside occupied Knoxville, Tennessee, and Confederate States Army forces under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet were detached from Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee at Chattanooga to prevent Burnside's reinforcement of the besieged Federal forces there. Ultimately, Longstreet's Siege of Knoxville ended when Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led elements of the Army of the Tennessee and other troops to Burnside's relief after Union troops had broken the Confederate siege of Chattanooga. Although Longstreet was one of Gen. Robert E. Lee's best corps commanders in the East in the Army of Northern Virginia, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to penetrate the Knoxville defenses and take the city.
Absalom Baird was a career United States Army officer who distinguished himself as a Union Army general in the American Civil War. Baird received the Medal of Honor for his military actions.
Micah Jenkins was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded by friendly fire at the Battle of the Wilderness.
Kenner Garrard was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. A member of one of Ohio's most prominent military families, he performed well at the Battle of Gettysburg, and then led a cavalry division in the army of Major General William T. Sherman during the Atlanta Campaign. He developed a reputation for personal bravery and was cited for gallantry at the Battle of Nashville as an infantry division commander.
John Pegram was a career soldier from Virginia who served as an officer in the United States Army and then as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He became the first former U.S. Army officer to be captured in Confederate service in 1861 and was killed in action near the end of the war.
John Baillie McIntosh was a Union Army brigadier general during the American Civil War. His brother, James M. McIntosh, served as a Confederate general until he was killed in the Battle of Pea Ridge.
Walter Chiles Whitaker was an American farmer, attorney, and soldier. He served as an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and also was a Union general during the American Civil War. After the war he returned to his profession as an attorney.
The September 7–9, 1863 fall of the Cumberland Gap was a victory for Union forces under the command of Ambrose Burnside during his campaign for Knoxville. The bloodless engagement cost the Confederates 2,300 men captured and control of the Cumberland Gap.
Washington Lafayette Elliott was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He led a division of IV Corps at the Battle of Nashville in 1864. In 1866, he was awarded the honorary grade of brevet major general, U.S. Army.
The following units and commanders fought in the Chattanooga–Ringgold campaign of the American Civil War on the Union side. The Confederate order of battle is shown separately. Order of battle compiled from the army organization during the campaign, the casualty returns and the reports.