XVIII Corps was a North Carolina corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
XVIII Corps was a North Carolina corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The XVIII Corps was created on December 24, 1862. It was initially composed of five divisions stationed in North Carolina, making it one of the largest in the Union Army (though two were detached to join the X Corps in early 1863), and placed under the command of General John G. Foster. By August 1863, most of the corps' original units were either disbanded or transferred elsewhere, but Brig. Gen. George W. Getty's division (formerly of IX Corps) and the bulk of the recently discontinued VII Corps from Virginia were redesignated the XVIII Corps.
During the spring of 1864, the corps—now commanded by General William Farrar Smith, formerly of VI Corps —was transferred to Yorktown, Virginia, to join Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler's Army of the James. The corps played a major part in the unsuccessful operations in the Bermuda Hundred, and was also heavily engaged at Cold Harbor. On June 12, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent Smith on a surprise march to seize Petersburg from the Confederate forces before Robert E. Lee could bring up the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia. In the Second Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Smith made successful initial attacks against the outnumbered defenses of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard; but after driving Beauregard's men from their outer entrenchments on the 15th, Smith, fearful of a Confederate counterattack, lost his nerve and did not press the attack when it could have resulted in the easy seizure of the city.
Smith was relieved of command in July due to ill health, and he was replaced by Edward O.C. Ord and later Godfrey Weitzel. Charles A. Heckman briefly commanded the corps following the wounding of General Ord during the Battle of Chaffin's Farm. John Gibbon was temporary commander of the corps in the month of September 1864. The corps occupied the line of entrenchments closest to the main Confederate line, and suffered heavy casualties in almost daily skirmishing for a month. The corps was relieved of its position by X Corps on August 26, and the corps was sent first to the Bermuda Hundred, and later to the north bank of the James River. Its first division took part in the successful attack on Fort Harrison on August 29 during the Battle of Chaffin's Farm. The corps was also engaged on October 27 in the Second Battle of Fair Oaks, fought over the same ground as the first battle in May 1862. The corps was ultimately discontinued in December 1864; as with X Corps, its white units went to join the new XXIV Corps, while its black units joined XXV Corps.
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac.
The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is encircled with fortifications blocking all routes of ingress and egress, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.
William Farrar Smith, known as "Baldy" Smith, was a Union general in the American Civil War, notable for attracting the extremes of glory and blame. He was praised for his gallantry in the Seven Days Battles and the Battle of Antietam, but was demoted for professional and political reasons after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg. As chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland, he achieved recognition by restoring a supply line that saved that army from starvation and surrender, known as the "Cracker Line", that helped Union troops to success in the Chattanooga Campaign in the autumn of 1863. Leading the first operation against Petersburg, Smith's caution, possibly illness-related, may have cost the Union a prime opportunity for a quick end to the war. He was relieved of command shortly thereafter.
Drewry's Bluff is located in northeastern Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the United States. It was the site of Confederate Fort Darling during the American Civil War. It was named for a local landowner, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry, who owned the property.
The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.
The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought in Virginia on September 29–30, 1864, as part of the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.
XXIV Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Second Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Assault on Petersburg, was fought June 15–18, 1864, at the beginning of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. Union forces under Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and Major General George G. Meade attempted to capture Petersburg, Virginia, before General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia could reinforce the city.
The Bermuda Hundred campaign was a series of battles fought at the town of Bermuda Hundred, outside Richmond, Virginia, during May 1864 in the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, commanding the Army of the James, threatened Richmond from the east but was stopped by forces under Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard.
The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren destroyed miles of track and withstood strong attacks from Confederate troops under Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. It was the first Union victory in the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. It forced the Confederates to carry their supplies 30 miles (48 km) by wagon to bypass the new Union lines that were extended farther to the south and west.
The 8th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Hiram Burnham was an officer in the Union Army who commanded a regiment and then a brigade in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. He was killed in battle while assaulting Confederate positions near Richmond, Virginia, during the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.
Charles Adam Heckman was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He fought in many of the early battles in North Carolina and later served in the Army of the James during the siege of Petersburg.
The 62nd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 67th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Ulysses S. Grant was the most acclaimed Union general during the American Civil War and was twice elected president. Grant began his military career as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1839. After graduation he went on to serve with distinction as a lieutenant in the Mexican–American War. Grant was a keen observer of the war and learned battle strategies serving under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. After the war Grant served at various posts especially in the Pacific Northwest; he was forced to retire from the service in 1854 due to accusations of drunkenness. He was unable to make a success of farming and on the onset of the Civil War in April 1861, 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.
The 118th New York Infantry Regiment was recruited for service in the American Civil War (1861–1865) from Clinton, Essex, and Warren counties in Northern New York. Known as "The Adirondack Regiment," the unit saw service along the Atlantic Coast in the Department of Virginia before transferring to the Army of the James in 1864. With the latter, they were engaged in the Overland Campaign and the subsequent siege of Petersburg.
The 47th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 142nd New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 117th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
