Army of the Potomac

During the American Civil War (1861-1865) there was an Army of the Potomac on both sides .

The Confederate Army

The Potomac Confederate Army , commanded by Brigadier General Beauregard , only took part in the first Battle of Manassas . It was then integrated into the Northern Virginia Army as I.  Corps , which was led by General Joseph E. Johnston .

The Union Army

The Potomac Army was the largest major unit of the United States Army in the Civil War . It emerged from the Potomac Territorial Command, which was formed on July 25, 1861 from the defense areas of northeastern Virginia and Washington. The Shenandoah Valley, Maryland, and Delaware Defense Areas and Counties expanded command on August 17, and Commander Major General McClellan was commissioned to continue the formation of the divisions and brigades . On August 20, he ordered the first measures to establish the Potomac Army.

During the Civil War it was customary to name larger army units after the areas in which they were mainly active. The Potomac Army was mainly deployed around Washington , DC. That is why the name of the Potomac River was chosen here. She had four commanders in chief . The final commander in chief was Major General George G. Meade , appointed in June 1863, just days before the Potomac Army had to fight one of its most important battles, the Battle of Gettysburg .

When Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army in 1864 , he opened his headquarters in the Potomac Army. Grant did not intervene in the leadership of the Potomac Army, but only gave instructions to the Army Commander in Chief like all other Army Commander in Chief.

Four commanding generals of the Potomac Army fell in the field: Jesse L. Reno († September 14, 1862), Joseph KF Mansfield († September 18, 1862), John F. Reynolds († July 1, 1863) and John Sedgwick († May 9, 1864).

Commander in chief

• Major General George B. McClellan (March 8, 1862 - November 9, 1862)
• Major General Ambrose E. Burnside (November 9, 1862 - January 26, 1863)
• Maj. General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker (January 26 - June 28, 1863)
• Major General George G. Meade (June 28, 1863 - June 27, 1865)

Battles and campaigns

• Peninsula Campaign (McClellan)
• Maryland Campaign (McClellan)
  • Battle of South Mountain
  • Battle for Harpers Ferry
  • Battle of the Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg)
  • Skirmish at Shepherdstown
• Battle of Fredericksburg (Burnside)
• Battle of Chancellorsville (Hooker)
• Battle of Gettysburg (Meade; see also List of Brigades of the Union Army in the Battle of Gettysburg )
• Mine Run Campaign (Meade)
• Overland Campaign (Meade)
  • Battle of the Wilderness (Meade)
  • Battle at Spotsylvania Court House (Meade)
  • Battle of North Anna (Meade)
  • Battle of Cold Harbor (Meade)
• Siege of Petersburg (Meade)
• Richmond Campaign (Meade)
• Appomattox Campaign (Meade)

literature

• Bruce Catton: Army of the Potomac . 3 vols. ( Mr. Lincoln's Army; Glory Road; A Stillness at Appotomax ), Garden City / NY 1951–1953.
• Jeffry D. Wert: The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac. New York 2005.
• Russel H. Beatie: Army of the Potomac . 3 volumes to date. Cambridge, MA 2002-.
• 'The Count of Paris': Campaign of the Potomac Army , American Studies Publishing House, ISBN 3-89510-063-3

Web links

Commons : Army of the Potomac  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ The War of the Rebellion , Series I, Volume II, p. 763: Order of the Potomac Territorial Command to be set up