 |
 |
| Department of the Cumberland | After reorganization Jan 9, 1863 |
UNION ARMY XIV CORPS
| |
|
| Department of the Cumberland | After reorganization Jan 9, 1863 |
Chaplin Hills; Knob Gap; Stone's River; Hoover's Gap; Chickamauga; Missionary Ridge; Buzzard Roost; Tunnel Hill; Resaca; Rome; New Hope Church; Kenesaw Mountain; Peach Tree Creek; Utoy Creek; Siege Of Atlanta; Jonesboro; Lovejoy's Station; Sherman's March; Siege Of Savannah; Averasboro; Bentonville
The Fourteenth Corps was constituted under General Orders No. 168, Oct. 94, 1862, which directed that the troops in the Army of the Cumberland should be designated as the Fourteenth Corps, and that General Rosecrans be placed in command. These forces had hitherto been styled the Army of the Ohio, and had been under the command of General Buell. It had fought under him at Shiloh, and at Chaplin Hills, the latter battle occurring October 8th, just prior to the order designating this army as the Fourteenth Corps. At the time of the battle of Chaplin Hills, the Army of the Ohio had been divided, by order of General Buell, into the First, Second, and Third Corps commanded respectively by Major-Generals McCook, Crittenden and Gilbert. Its losses at Chaplin Hills--or Perryville- aggregated 845 killed, 2,851 wounded, and 515 missing; total, 4,211. Over three-fourths of these casualties occurred in McCook's Corps, the loss in some of his regiments being unusually large.
The Fourteenth Corps, at the time when it was first designated as such, embraced twelve divisions, containing 155 regiments of infantry, 1 regiment of engineers, 35 batteries of light artillery, and 6 regiments of cavalry. There are no returns showing its numerical strength at this time; but, a return in December, 1862, shows all aggregate of 123,402, present and absent, with 66,795 present for duty.
Like the Thirteenth Corps, which was also constituted by General Order 168, the Fourteenth embraced an entire army; and hence, like the Thirteenth, some further subdivision became necessary. On November 7th, General Rosecrans ordered that the corps be divided into the right wing, centre, and left wing, to the command of which Major-Generals McCook, Thomas, and Crittenden were respectively assigned. The centre contained five divisions, while the right and left wings contained three divisions each. Three of the centre divisions were detached by General Rosecrans to protect his line of communications, and so the Fourteenth Corps took 8 divisions into action at Stone's River. The centre, under Thomas, was composed of Rousseau's and Negley's Divisions; the right wing, under McCook, of Davis', Johnson's, and Sheridan's Divisions; the left wing, under Crittenden, of Wood's, Palmer's, and Van Cleve's Divisions. Walker's Brigade of the Third Division, centre, was also present at Stone's River. These troops numbered 43,400 present for duty; the loss in that battle amounted to 1,730 killed, 7,802 wounded, and 3,717 captured or missing; total, 13,249. Over 25 per cent. were killed or wounded.
By authority of the War Department--General Order No. 9--January 9, 1863, the right wing, centre, and left wing of the Fourteenth Corps were designated respectively as the Twentieth, Fourteenth and Twenty-first Army Corps, the commanding officers remaining unchanged. As before, these three corps constituted the Army of the Cumberland. From this time on, the history of the Fourteenth Corps is limited to the movements of the particular divisions under command of General Thomas. After the battle of Stone's River, Rosecrans advanced his army to Murfreesboro, and encamped there. On June 23, 1863, orders were issued for another advance, during which the Fourteenth Corps was engaged in the fighting at Hoover's Gap, June 24 - 25. It was then composed of the four divisions of Rousseau, Negley, Brannan, and Reynolds. Its losses at Hoover's Gap amounted to 27 killed, 177 wounded, and 2 missing; total, 206.
Pushing on across the Cumberland Mountains in pursuit of Bragg, the Fourteenth was next engaged at Chickamauga. General Baird had succeeded Rousseau in command of the First Division. The four divisions then contained 51 regiments of infantry, and 12 batteries of light artillery. In the First Division was the Brigade of Regulars which had distinguished itself by its gallantry and good fighting at Stone's River. The Fourteenth Corps numbered 19,920 at Chickamauga; it lost there 664 killed, 3,555 wounded, and 1,925 missing; total, 6,144.
In pursuance of an order from the President, dated Sept. 25, 1863, the Army of the Cumberland was reorganized. General Thomas succeeded Rosecrans, and Major-General John M. Palmer was placed in command of the Fourteenth Corps. Under this reorganization the corps contained three divisions,--Johnson's, Davis' and Baird's,--and each division contained three brigades. Some of the brigades contained nine, regiments; but the regiments were small, and many of them sadly depleted. The corps roster on Oct. 20, l863 showed 64 regiments of infantry, and 9 batteries of light artillery. The corps fought at Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863, where it lost 140 killed, 787 wounded, and 14 missing; total, 941. In February, 1864, it was engaged in a sharp reconnoissance at Dalton, Ga.
On May 5, 1864, it moved with Sherman's Army on the advance which was to culminate in the possession of Atlanta. The Fourteenth Corps took part in the opening battle of this campaign at Resaca, and was prominently engaged in the final victory at Jonesboro. During the intervening four months it was actively engaged in the continuous marching and fighting which was so characteristic of that brilliant campaign. In August, while on the Atlanta campaign, General Palmer, the corps commander, was relieved upon his own request, and General Jefferson C. Davis, the commander of the Second Division, was appointed by the President to take Palmer's place. General James D. Morgan succeeded to the command of the Second Division. During the four months of the Atlanta campaign, the Army of the Cumberland-- then composed of the Fourth, Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps--lost 3,041 killed, 15,783 wounded, and 2,707 missing; total, 21,531. Of these casualties fully one-third occurred in the Fourteenth Corps. To this total must be added the heavy losses of the Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of the Ohio, in order to understand the extent of the fighting while on that campaign.
After a short rest at Atlanta, and a short campaign in pursuit of Hood, the Fourteenth Corps moved with Sherman's Army, Nov. 15, 1864, on its march to the sea, the three divisions of the corps being under command of Generals Carlin, Morgan and Baird, and numbering 13,962 present for duty. The march through Georgia to the sea was all uneventful one, and no fighting occurred. Savannah was occupied December 20th, and in February, 1865, Sherman started on his march through the Carolinas. The Fourteenth Corps, together with the Twentieth, formed the Army of Georgia, General Slocum commanding both corps. On entering the Carolina campaign, February 1, 1865, the Fourteenth reported its strength at 14,420,infantry and artillery, and contained 47 regiments of infantry, with 4 batteries of light artillery. The battle of Bentonville, N. C., occurred March 19, 1865, while on this campaign. It was a hard fought battle, in which the divisions of Carlin and Morgan, assisted by two brigades from Williams' (Twentieth) Corps, did most all the fighting. This was the last battle in which the corps participated, and the veteran columns marched gayly on to the final review at Washington. The organization was ordered discontinued August 1, 1865.