Second Corps, Army of Tennessee
Second Corps, Army of Tennessee | |
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D.H. Hill |
The Second Corps, Army of Tennessee was a military formation in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
Formation
The Corps was originally formed before the
At its first battle (Shiloh), the Corps initially drove Benjamin Prentiss's Union division from their camps. But when Prentiss, Wallace and their divisions dug in at the Hornet's Nest, Bragg assaulted the position from all sides for hours without dislodging them. Suffering heavily, the Second Corps was completely disorganized by the time they forced Prentiss out and was held in reserve for the rest of the battle, briefly fighting on the second day.
With many line officers killed or wounded, the Corps took months to refit. Fighting in the Corinth Campaign, the Corps was later re-organized for its next operation in September 1862, the invasion of Kentucky.
Service and reorganization
The II Corps after Corinth was again reorganized with two divisions, the first under
The Corps and the entire Army were re-organized again.
Stones River and middle Tennessee
After the reorganization in the fall of 1862, the Army of Tennessee was ready for action, as was the Second Corps. This action took place at
Rather than following up on victory, Braxton Bragg waited a day, then on January 2 attacked Rosecrans with the reserve of the army, Breckinridge's division from the II corps. Breckinridge was ordered to assault the Union left, Thomas Crittenden's Corps over open ground and a river. Breckinridge, Hardee, Cleburne and the other officers protested, but Bragg didn't listen. Breckinridge drove the first Union division at the river in a suicidal charge, but was bloodied once he attacked the main line. Bragg retreated the next day, with the II Corps as the rear guard.
Chickamauga-Chattanooga
The Corps was reorganized yet again after Stones River. Alexander Stewart and his division of 6,000 were attached to the II Corps, but Breckinridge and his division were sent to help the
After campaigning for a few months in Tennessee, Bragg was driven out to Chattanooga, and then lost that city. In north Georgia, however, he re-formed for a counterstrike. Troops from Mississippi came under Walker and Forrest, soldiers from east Tennessee under Buckner, troops from Georgia, Kentucky, east Tennessee and Mississippi under Burshod Johnson and troops from Virginia under James Longstreet.
The army was again re-organized; Hill lost Stewart's division, which was sent to Buckner's Corps, but he still had Cleburne and Breckinridge. The corps was heavily engaged at Chickamauga, assaulting the Union left. After the Confederates broke through on the left, the II Corps did the same on the right, securing the Confederate victory. The Corps suffered heavily in the battle however, and was exhausted. Hill, as well as many other officers, wished to pursue the broken enemy, but Bragg declined and in turn relieved Hill, Polk, Wallker, Forrest and other officers from command.
At Chattanooga, the Corps was re-organized. Breckinridge took command of the Corps with his old division under
At the battle itself, the II Corps was stationed in the center on Missionary Ridge as well as Orchard Knob in a salient. When Orchard Knob was taken, the Union force under George Thomas attacked the center and broke the II Corps, sending them fleeing in confusion. But with light casualties on both sides, the battle didn't inflict much damage, other than damaging Confederate morale.
Atlanta
The Corps was reorganized again in December when
The corps fought in all the engagements of the campaign, and at Resaca and New Hope Church they played key roles. At Kennesaw Mountain, its soldiers disobeyed orders to attack the flanking columns of John Schofield's Army of the Ohio and drove them back in a decisive manner.
Once Hood took command of the Army, there was another reorganization. Stewart took command, but was transferred to the III Corps, then Stevenson took command, then Cheatham, then Stewart again, then Hindman, and finally Stephen D. Lee. All of these changes took place within a time span of three months. The Corps was heavily engaged at Atlanta and at Ezra Church, where they suffered heavy losses.
Invasion of Tennessee
After Atlanta fell to
The Corps marched north into Tennessee, but missed the bloodbath at
In the Carolinas
After Nashville in the early spring of 1865, the Confederate Army was discouraged; there was no hope for the cause. Hood resigned, and the Army went to Joseph Johnston again. The corps was re-organized again, with Stevenson, Clayton and Stovall in command of the divisions, and Johnson had been captured once again. The remnants of the Army were transferred to stop Sherman in the