First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia

This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (September 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia
Active	December 1862 – April 10, 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Branch	Confederate States Army
Type	Corps
Role	Infantry
Size	2-5 divisions
Part of	Army of Northern Virginia Army of Tennessee
Engagements	American Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Gettysburg Campaign Battle of Chickamauga Knoxville Campaign Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Appomattox campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Longstreet John Bell Hood Richard H. Anderson

The First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (or Longstreet's Corps) was a military unit fighting for the

On June 1, 1862, Robert E. Lee took command of the

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, which was scattered along the city's riverfront. The Confederates started firing at the Union pontooners shortly after 5 a.m., forcing them to abandon their work; Union artillery fire from Strafford Heights on the eastern side of the river was unable to drive Barksdale's brigade from their positions, despite several hours of bombardment.^[6] About 3 p.m., small groups of Union soldiers were ferried across the river by the engineers and drove the Confederates through the city. Barksdale withdrew to the main Confederate positions shortly after 7 p.m.^[7]

In January 1863, Ransom's division was transferred to North Carolina.^[8]

1863

Suffolk operations and Chancellorsville

Longstreet and part of the First Corps (Hood's and Pickett's divisions) were detached from the Army of Northern Virginia on February 26 and sent to Suffolk, Virginia, to contend with the Federal pressure there from the Union IX Corps, as well as allow supplies in the region to be collected by Confederate authorities. During the next several months, Longstreet would serve as head of the Department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina.^[9] 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. After three weeks he was ordered to abandon the siege and return to Lee's main army but the Battle of Chancellorsville ended before Longstreet arrived.^[10]

Gettysburg

Note: see

Following the death of Jackson in May, the Army of Northern Virginia was reorganized into three corps. Longstreet retained McLaws', Hood's, and Pickett's divisions, while Richard Anderson's division was transferred to the new

Nearing the end of June 1863 the Army of Northern Virginia had passed up the Shenandoah Valley, crossed through Maryland and entered Pennsylvania, using the Blue Ridge Mountains to hide their movements from Union cavalry patrols. The First Corps started crossing the Potomac River into Maryland on June 25, finishing the following day; the corps then camped for several days near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.^[12]

The First Corps divisions of Hood and McLaws were far from Cashtown and would not arrive in time to partake in the

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. Longstreet, in command of the attacking force, had predicted a negative result and protested; but was ordered to commence the attack nonetheless. 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, marching nearly a mile over open field, under heavy artillery and musket fire. The attack was an overall failure, with Pickett losing over 2,600 men, all three brigade commanders, and all but one regimental commander. Though Pickett's division was only one element of the attack the whole has usually been named Pickett's Charge. The army fell back to Virginia, reaching it after a costly retreat 10 days later.

Chickamauga

Note: see

On September 9, the First Corps was transferred to the Department of Tennessee, except for Pickett's division and the brigade of

Chattanooga

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016)

Knoxville Campaign

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)

Note: see^{[13][circular reference]} for the command structure of Longstreet's Corps at this time.

November 4 - Longstreet leaves Chattanooga^[14]

November 6 - Battle of Big Creek, Rogersville - The Army of West Virginia attacks in support of Longstreet's efforts.

November 15 - Engagement at Ft. Dickerson.^[15]

November 16 - Battle of Campbell's Station.^[16]

November 17 - Longstreet lays siege to Knoxville^[17]

November 18 - Engagement at West Knoxville. Union General Sanders is mortally wounded.^[18]

November 25 - Engagement at Armstrong's Hill, South Knoxville.^[19]

November 28. Weather rainy and cold in Knoxville. General McLaws drives in the pickets at Fort Sanders that evening. A general alarm is sounded in Fort Sanders at 11:00 pm, but the expected attack fails to materialize. The defenders of the fort sleep on their guns in the mud under dog tents.^[20]

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 Revielle 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.^[21]

Winter quarters 1863–64

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. At first Longstreet decided to leave the Knoxville area immediately, so he directed the wagon train to move rearward at once. Then two messages from Bragg came in, suggesting the First Corps should cross the mountain ranges into Georgia to reach the army retreating there. As Longstreet held councils of war with his senior officers, the logistical problems of crossing the mountains came to light, and it was decided to stay at Knoxville until Union reinforcements arrived then go into winter quarters near Bristol, Virginia.^[22]

On December 1 Confederate cavalry patrols captured an enemy courier, carrying a message for Burnside stating three columns had been sent to his aid. Longstreet acted on this information—later proved to be a ruse—and ordered his wagons started eastward under guard. 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, where Longstreet halted on December 9. The following day he received discretionary authority from Davis covering all soldiers in his region, and with this he recalled the cavalry units that had been ordered to Bragg in Georgia. Longstreet rested his command at Rogersville until December 13, when he learned of pursuing Union infantry and cavalry back at Bean's Station; he then decided to turn and attack them the next day.^[23]

Battle of Bean's Station

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016)

Battle of Bean's Station - December 14, 1863

Battle of Mossy Creek - December 29, 1863

Civil War service, 1864

Battle of Dandridge, Tn. - January 17, 1864

Battle of Fair Garden, Tn. - January 27, 1864

Overland Campaign

Note: see

At the start of the Overland Campaign, the First Corps was 25 miles (40 km) 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. Longstreet received orders telling him to reunite with the rest of the army and support A.P. Hill's Third Corps before 4 a.m. on May 4.^[24] 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 (1.6 km) further.^[25] Shortly after stabilizing the Confederate line, a Confederate engineer discovered an unfinished railroad bed which gave the Confederates access to the Union left flank. Longstreet organized a flanking force composed of four brigades drawn from his own First Corps and from the Third Corps. 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.^[26]

Note: see

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was fought May 8–21, along a trench line four miles long, in and around Spotsylvania, about 10 miles southeast of the Wilderness battlefields.

On the evening of May 7, Lee ordered Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson to move his corps to Spotsylvania Court House, believing that Grant was headed to the same place. He told Anderson to have his men on the move by three in the morning, but Anderson decided to move at ten that evening, a decision that would prove to help the Army of Northern Virginia considerably. At the same time Lee put Anderson in motion, Grant decided to move his army to the same location in hopes of drawing Lee out into the open and get between Lee and Richmond.

The First Corps had just arrived to Block House Bridge when Anderson was informed that Maj. Gen.

, who had just broken through to the Court House. Anderson immediately sent the brigades of Bryan and Wofford, who are able to help Lee fend off the cavalrymen.

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."

Note: see

Cold Harbor order of battle

for the command structure of the Army of Northern Virginia at this time.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)

Siege of Petersburg

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)

Civil War service, 1865

Siege continues

Five Forks and Appomattox

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.^[27]

Surrender and parole

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016)

See also

• Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
• Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
• Fourth Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
• Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia

Notes