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Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War
XXIV Corps
was a
corps
of the
Union Army
during the
American Civil War
.
The Union
Army of the James
was formed in April 1864 under the command of
Major General
Benjamin Butler
for the purpose of taking
Richmond, Virginia
and
Petersburg, Virginia
while the Union
Army of the Potomac
along with the separate
IX Corps
under the direction of Union General-in-chief
Lieutenant General
Ulysses S. Grant
and the tactical command of Major General
George Meade
engaged
Confederate
General
Robert E. Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia
in the
Overland Campaign
. In April 1864, the Army of the James was composed of the
X Corps
, the
XVIII Corps
and a cavalry division under the command of
Brigadier General
August V. Kautz
. Butler failed to achieve his objectives in the
Bermuda Hundred Campaign
when his forces were stopped by a small Confederate force led by General
P.G.T. Beauregard
.
[1]
In December 1864, the white and black units of the Army of the James were divided into two corps. The black troops were sent to the
XXV Corps
; the white troops became the XXIV Corps, under the command of
Edward O. Ord
. The bulk of corps remained in the Petersburg trenches, but
Adelbert Ames's
second division took part in both Major General Butler's initial unsuccessful assault on Fort Fisher during the
First Battle of Fort Fisher
in December 1864 and the successful attack on the fort during the
Second Battle of Fort Fisher
the following January. This division was ultimately absorbed into the revived
X Corps
in March 1865.
The remainder of the corps served in the
Petersburg Campaign
. When Ord assumed command of the Army of the James from Butler on January 1, 1865,
John Gibbon
took command of the corps and led it ably. The corps took part in the defeat of Lee at
Hatcher's Run
in February and were involved in the assaults of
Fort Gregg
and
Fort Whitworth
during the
fall of Petersburg
on April 2 The corps was engaged during the skirmish at
Appomattox
that occurred just prior to Lee's surrender. During the Appomattox campaign, an Independent Division of troops that had served in the Shenandoah Valley was added to the first and third divisions. The corps remained in Virginia until August, when it was disbanded.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Heidler,
Army of the James
. In
Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
ISBN
0-393-04758-X
. pp. 93–94.
References
[
edit
]
- Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher
,
Civil War High Commands.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.
ISBN
0-8047-3641-3
. pp. 855, 863.
- Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Heidler,
Army of the James
. In
Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
ISBN
0-393-04758-X
. pp. 93–94.
External links
[
edit
]