I Corps (Union Army)
| I Corps | |
|---|---|
Army Corps | |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Irvin McDowell Joseph Hooker John F. Reynolds † John Newton |
| Insignia | |
| 1st Division |  |
| 2nd Division |  |
| 3rd Division |  |
I Corps (First Corps) was the designation of three different
History
The I Corps was created on March 3, 1862, when
McClellan originally intended for the I Corps to participate in his
On April 4, Lincoln created the Department of the Rappahannock, detaching the I Corps from the Army of the Potomac to form the core of the new department, and giving command of the department to I Corps commander, Irvin McDowell.
In May, Franklin’s division was detached and sent south to reinforce McClellan in his Peninsula campaign, uniting with a division of the IV Corps to form the VI Corps.[2]
On June 18, McCall’s division, the “
On June 26, Rufus King’s division, James B. Ricketts’ division, and Abner Doubleday’s brigade were transferred from the Department of the Rappahannock to the newly created Army of Virginia, forming its III Corps, under the command of Irvin McDowell.[3]
On August 26, the “Pennsylvania Reserves” were transferred to the III Corps of the Army of Virginia and fought at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Soon after the battle, the corps was transferred to the Army of the Potomac and reclassified as the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac.[4]
In early September, the I Corps, now under the command of Major General
Having fought three battles in six weeks, the I Corps was severely depleted. An influx of new volunteer regiments (both three year and nine month) arrived to replenish its ranks, and by November it was back up to full strength.
The corps moved southward to fight General Robert E. Lee's army at the Battle of Fredericksburg, commanded by Major General John F. Reynolds, arguably the best Union corps commander in the Eastern Theater. At Fredericksburg, Meade and John Gibbon's divisions fought Stonewall Jackson's corps south of the town while Doubleday's division was held in reserve. The I Corps did not see any significant action in the Chancellorsville Campaign.
In its last major battle, the
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
Command history
| Irvin McDowell | March 13, 1862 – April 4, 1862 |
| Irvin McDowell* | June 26, 1862 – September 5, 1862 |
| James B. Ricketts* | September 5, 1862 – September 6, 1862 |
| Joseph Hooker* | September 6, 1862 – September 12, 1862 |
| Joseph Hooker | September 12, 1862 – September 17, 1862 |
George G. Meade
|
September 17, 1862 – September 29, 1862 |
| John F. Reynolds | September 29, 1862 – January 2, 1863 |
| James S. Wadsworth | January 2, 1863 – January 4, 1863 |
| John F. Reynolds | January 4, 1863 – March 1, 1863 |
| James S. Wadsworth | March 1, 1863 – March 9, 1863 |
| John F. Reynolds | March 9, 1863 – July 1, 1863 |
| Abner Doubleday | July 1, 1863 – July 2, 1863 |
| John Newton | July 2, 1863 – March 12, 1864 |
| James S. Wadsworth | March 12, 1864 – March 14, 1864 |
| John Newton | March 14, 1864 – March 24, 1864 |
* As III Corps, Army of Virginia
References
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J.: Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3
- Fox, William F.: Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, Albany Publishing, 1889 (online text of I Corps section)
- Wipperman, Darin: First for the Union: Life and Death in a Civil War Army Corps from Antietam to Gettysburg, Stackpole, 2020
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