I Corps (ACW)

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

I Corps (ACW)

I Corps (First Corps) was the designation of three different corps

Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
-sized units in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. The units served in the following armies:

The first two were units of very limited life; the third was one of the most distinguished and veteran corps in the entire Union Army, commanded by very distinguished officers.

I Corps was activated March 13, 1862, when President

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
ordered the creation of a four-corps army, then under the command of Major General George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'I Corps (ACW)'

Start a new discussion about 'I Corps (ACW)'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

I Corps (First Corps) was the designation of three different corps

Corps

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. The units served in the following armies:

Army of the Ohio
Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union Army armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863....
/Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater of the American Civil War during the American Civil War....
, Alexander M. McCook, September 29, 1862 – November 5, 1862
Army of the Mississippi
Army of the Mississippi

Army of the Mississippi was the name given to two Union Army armies that operated around the Mississippi River, both with short existences, during the American Civil War....
, George W. Morgan
George W. Morgan

George Washington Morgan was an United States soldier, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He fought in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War, and was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
, January 4, 1863 – January 12, 1863
Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
and Army of Virginia
Army of Virginia

The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E....
(see below)

The first two were units of very limited life; the third was one of the most distinguished and veteran corps in the entire Union Army, commanded by very distinguished officers.

History

The I Corps was activated March 13, 1862, when President

President of the United States

Abraham Lincoln

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
. The first commander of this corps was Major General

Major General

Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General....
Irvin McDowell

Irvin McDowell

Irvin McDowell was a career United States United States Army, famous for his defeat during the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War....
and it contained three divisions

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
. It was held in defense of Washington while the rest of the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
advanced to the Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
.

It was then consolidated into the Army of Virginia

Army of Virginia

The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E....
under Major General John Pope

John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
, and fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
, as the Third Corps, Army of Virginia

Army of Virginia

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. The river is approximately 383 statute miles long, with a Drainage basin of about 14,700 square miles ....
into Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
to fight in the Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern United States soil....
, under Major General Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
. There, the division of Pennsylvania Reserves

Pennsylvania Reserves

The Pennsylvania Reserves was an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, and fought in many important battles, including Battle of Antietam and Battle of Gettysburg....
, under Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
George G. Meade, took heavy casualties through its hard fighting, and was withdrawn to replenish.

The corps moved southward to fight General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
's army at the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
, commanded by Major General John F. Reynolds

John F. Reynolds

John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a General officer in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, despite having a relatively limited amount of combat experience in the war, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was kill...
, arguably the best Union corps commander in the Eastern Theater. He superbly led the corps through this battle, then through the Battle of Chancellorsville

Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 to May 6, 1863....
, where the I Corps was left in reserve.

In its last major battle, the Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
, General Reynolds was killed just as the first troops arrived on the field, and command was inherited by Major General Abner Doubleday

Abner Doubleday

Abner Doubleday was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Battle of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg....
. Although putting up a ferocious fight, the I Corps was overwhelmed by the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
Third Corps (A.P. Hill) and Robert E. Rodes

Robert E. Rodes

Robert Emmett Rodes was a railroad civil engineer and a promising young Confederate States Army General officer in the American Civil War, killed in battle in the Shenandoah Valley....
's division of Richard S. Ewell

Richard S. Ewell

Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate States Army General officer during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E....
's Second Corps. It was forced to retreat through the town of Gettysburg, taking up defensive positions on Cemetery Hill

Cemetery Hill

Cemetery Hill is a key terrain feature in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the northernmost extent of Cemetery Ridge. It played prominent roles in all three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863....
. The next day (July 2, 1863), the command was given to Major General John Newton, a division commander from the VI Corps

VI Corps (ACW)

The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War....
. This was a controversial move that deeply offended the more senior Doubleday. Newton led it through the remainder of the battle, including the defense against Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
, and through the Mine Run Campaign that fall.

On March 24, 1864, the Civil War career of the I Corps came to an end as it was disbanded and its depleted units were reorganized into two divisions, which were transferred into the V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
of the Army of the Potomac.

Command history

Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell was a career United States United States Army, famous for his defeat during the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War....	March 13, 1862 – April 4, 1862
Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell was a career United States United States Army, famous for his defeat during the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War.... *	June 26, 1862 – September 5, 1862
James B. Ricketts James B. Ricketts James Brewerton Ricketts was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a general in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War during the American Civil War.... *	September 5, 1862 – September 6, 1862
Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.... *	September 6, 1862 – September 12, 1862
Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....	September 12, 1862 – September 17, 1862
George G. Meade	September 17, 1862 – September 29, 1862
John F. Reynolds John F. Reynolds John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a General officer in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, despite having a relatively limited amount of combat experience in the war, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was kill...	September 29, 1862 – January 2, 1863
James S. Wadsworth James S. Wadsworth James Samuel Wadsworth was a philanthropist, politician, and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. He was killed in battle during the Battle of the Wilderness of 1864....	January 2, 1863 – January 4, 1863
John F. Reynolds John F. Reynolds John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a General officer in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, despite having a relatively limited amount of combat experience in the war, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was kill...	January 4, 1863 – March 1, 1863
James S. Wadsworth James S. Wadsworth James Samuel Wadsworth was a philanthropist, politician, and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. He was killed in battle during the Battle of the Wilderness of 1864....	March 1, 1863 – March 9, 1863
John F. Reynolds John F. Reynolds John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a General officer in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, despite having a relatively limited amount of combat experience in the war, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was kill...	March 9, 1863 – July 1, 1863
Abner Doubleday Abner Doubleday Abner Doubleday was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Battle of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg....	July 1, 1863 – July 2, 1863
John Newton	July 2, 1863 – March 12, 1864
James S. Wadsworth James S. Wadsworth James Samuel Wadsworth was a philanthropist, politician, and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. He was killed in battle during the Battle of the Wilderness of 1864....	March 12, 1864 – March 14, 1864
John Newton	March 14, 1864 – March 24, 1864

* As III Corps, Army of Virginia

Army of Virginia