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First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · The Right Wing Reborn —
First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
On the 1st of June 1862, Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of the Potomac following Johnston's wounding during Battle of Seven Pines. Shortly afterwards this army would be known as the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee re-organized the army as two wings with Lt. Gen. James Longstreet in charge of the Right Wing and Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson in charge of the Left wing. With the authorization of corps later that year, the Right Wing was redesignated as the First Corps. At this time, Longstreet's corps contained twenty-one brigades organized into five divisions under major generals Lafayette McLaws, Richard H. Anderson, George E. Pickett, and John B. Hood, and Brigadier General Robert Ransom, Jr.
Fredericksburg And Suffolk
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, starting on December 11 and concluding the 15th of December 1862. The First Corps started reaching Marye's Heights on November 18 and deployed there to contest a possible pontoon crossing of the Union army at Fredericksburg. When Burnside's army started bridging the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg in the early morning of December 11, their crossing was contested by William Barksdale's brigade. The Confederates started firing at the Union pontooners shortly after 5 a.m., forcing them to abandon their work. In January 1863, Ransom's division was transferred to North Carolina. Longstreet and part of the First Corps were detached from the Army of Northern Virginia on February 26 and sent to Suffolk, Virginia. During the next several months, Longstreet would serve as head of the Department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina. Starting on April 11, Longstreet used his two divisions to lay siege to Suffolk, in order to better collect supplies in the area near the city.
Gettysburg And The Charge
Nearing the end of June 1863 the Army of Northern Virginia had passed up the Shenandoah Valley, crossed through Maryland and entered Pennsylvania. The First Corps started crossing the Potomac River into Maryland on June 25, finishing the following day. Late on the second day of the battle the two present divisions of the First Corps attacked the Union left flank. While Hood, on the southern right, was able to take Devil's Den from Sickles' III Corps and to deploy on Big Round Top, he wasn't able to turn the flank. On the third day, Pickett's diminished division, finally arrived, and two small divisions from the Third Corps attacked the center of the Union lines near Cemetery Ridge. After one of the largest, though insufficient, artillery barrages of the war under the command of Col. Alexander a column estimated at 11,000-15,000 men advanced against the positions of the II Corps and parts of the I Corps. The attack was an overall failure, with Pickett losing over 2,600 men, all three brigade commanders, and all but one regimental commander.
The Western Detour
On September 9, the First Corps was transferred to the Department of Tennessee, except for Pickett's division and the brigade of Tige Anderson. To get to and reinforce Bragg's army, the First Corps would use 16 railroads on a nearly 800-mile route through North and South Carolina to reach the Army of Tennessee. This round-about route was necessary due to the different gauges of the surviving Southern rail system between the forces, and would take three weeks to complete. The lead elements of Longstreet's corps, three brigades of Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood's division, were grouped with a western division under Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson and opened the battle on September 18 by crossing Chickamauga Creek at Reed's Bridge. On September 20, Longstreet arrived along with two brigades from McLaws's division. Since McLaws had not yet arrived, the brigades were led by Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw. The troops of the First Corps played an important role in the breakthrough Longstreet achieved on the 20th. This fight is considered the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater, with total casualties on both sides exceeding 34,000.
Knoxville And Winter
November 4 - Longstreet leaves Chattanooga. November 17 - Longstreet lays siege to Knoxville. November 29. Assault on Fort Loudon / Sanders. At sunrise the Union troops in Ft. Loudon raise a large US garrison flag on a newly erected flagpole. The band plays Reveille and the National Anthem. Confederate artillery bombards the fort, followed by the Confederate infantry charge, which ends in disaster in 15 minutes. A truce is called to carry off the dead, wounded, and prisoners. About an hour after the failed attack on Fort Sanders on November 29, a telegram from President Jefferson Davis arrived, informing Longstreet of Bragg's defeat at Chattanooga and directing the First Corps to rejoin the Army of Tennessee. On December 1 Confederate cavalry patrols captured an enemy courier, carrying a message for Burnside stating three columns had been sent to his aid. The 15,000 infantrymen began to follow late in the day on December 4, marching in a heavy rain all night. Over the next four days the First Corps retreated toward Virginia, passing through Bean's Station and heading for Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tennessee.
The Wilderness Wound
At the start of the Overland Campaign, the First Corps was 25 miles away guarding rail lines at Gordonsville when the rest of Lee's army engaged Meade's Army of the Potomac in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5. By mid-day on May 6 the Third Corps was in danger of being swamped over by the Union II Corps when the First Corps arrived to fill in the gap created by the fight. Longstreet put in his men directly against the now-worn out II Corps and regained almost all of the ground lost in the battle so far, then pushed the II Corps a mile further. Shortly after stabilizing the Confederate line, a Confederate engineer discovered an unfinished railroad bed which gave the Confederates access to the Union left flank. While the initial attack was successful in routing the Union flank, the Confederates quickly became confused in the dense thickets. At this time, Longstreet was seriously wounded in his neck by friendly fire. Command of the First Corps temporarily passed to Maj. Gen. Charles W. Field, who then reorganized the corps into a defensive line. On May 7, Lee decided to replace Field with Richard Anderson.
Spotsylvania And Cold Harbor
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was fought the 8th of May 21, along a trench line four miles long, in and around Spotsylvania, about 10 miles southeast of the Wilderness battlefields. The First Corps would spend the majority of the battle defending against repeated assaults of Laurel Hill made by both V Corps infantry as well as units from Hancock's II Corps, and was not heavily involved in the fighting in and around the Bloody Angle. The Siege of Petersburg continued through the spring of 1865. Following Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's death at Petersburg, the remnants of the Third Corps were merged into the First Corps on April 2. The corps was disbanded shortly following Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union forces on the 9th of April 1865.
When did Robert E. Lee take command of the First Corps Army of Northern Virginia?
Robert E. Lee took command of the army on the 1st of June 1862 following Johnston's wounding during the Battle of Seven Pines. The Right Wing was later redesignated as the First Corps with authorization from that same year.
What happened to the First Corps Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Fredericksburg?
The First Corps started reaching Marye's Heights on November 18 and deployed there to contest a possible pontoon crossing of the Union army at Fredericksburg. Confederate forces under William Barksdale's brigade fired at Union pontooners shortly after 5 a.m. on December 11, forcing them to abandon their work.
How many men were in Longstreet's division of the First Corps Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg?
Pickett's diminished division advanced against Union positions with an estimated force of 11,000 to 15,000 men. This attack resulted in over 2,600 casualties for Pickett along with the loss of all three brigade commanders and all but one regimental commander.
Why did the First Corps Army of Northern Virginia travel through North and South Carolina in September 1863?
The First Corps used 16 railroads on a nearly 800-mile route through North and South Carolina to reach the Army of Tennessee due to different gauges of the surviving Southern rail system. This round-about journey took three weeks to complete before the corps opened the Battle of Chickamauga on September 18.
When was the First Corps Army of Northern Virginia disbanded?
The remnants of the Third Corps merged into the First Corps on April 2 following Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's death at Petersburg. The corps was disbanded shortly after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union forces on the 9th of April 1865.