Army of the Cumberland
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The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War, formerly known as the Army of the Ohio.
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[edit] History
The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation of the Army of the Ohio in November, 1861, under the command of Brigadier General Robert Anderson. The army fought under the name Army of the Ohio until Major General William S. Rosecrans assumed command of the army and the Department of the Cumberland and changed the name of the combined entity to the Army of the Cumberland. When Rosecrans assumed command, the army and the XIV Corps were the same unit, divided into three wings commanded by Alexander McCook (Right Wing), George H. Thomas (Center), and Thomas L. Crittenden (Left).
The army's first significant combat was at the Battle of Stones River. After the battle the army and XIV Corps were separated. The former Center wing became the XIV Corps, the Right wing became the XX Corps, and the Left wing became the XXI Corps. Rosecrans still retained command of the army. He next led it through the Tullahoma Campaign and at the Battle of Chickamauga, after which the army became besieged at Chattanooga. Major General Ulysses S. Grant arrived at Chattanooga to assume command of the Army of the Cumberland, Army of the Tennessee, and reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac. Rosecrans had been a popular and respected commander, but due to his defeat at Chickamauga and inability to lift the Confederate siege, Grant chose to replace him with George H. Thomas on October 28, 1863.
At the Battle of Chattanooga, Grant had been leery of using the Army of the Cumberland in the main fighting, fearing their morale to be too low after the defeat at Chickamauga. Instead, he used the veterans from the Army of the Potomac, proud of their recent victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, to take Lookout Mountain and planned to use the troops from the Army of the Tennessee, also recent victors at the Siege of Vicksburg, to attack the Confederate right flank on Missionary Ridge. The Army of the Cumberland was given the minor task of seizing the rifle pits at the base of Missionary Ridge. However, once they achieved their objective, four divisions (one led by Philip H. Sheridan) stormed up the ridge and routed the Confederate center. When Grant angrily asked who had ordered those troops up the ridge both Thomas and Gordon Granger, a corps commander in the army, responded they did not know. Thomas then replied "Once those boys get started, all hell can't stop 'em."
After Chattanooga, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman assumed command of all Union armies in the West and created an army group of the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of the Ohio and marched towards Atlanta. In September Atlanta fell to Sherman's army group. When Confederate General John B. Hood moved north from Atlanta, Sherman chose not to follow him and instead dispatched the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Ohio after him. Thomas finally met Hood at the Battle of Nashville and crushed him, thus bringing to an end any significant military actions for the Army of the Cumberland. It participated in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., before President Andrew Johnson, in 1865.
[edit] Command History
| Commander | From | To | Major Battles and Campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major General William S. Rosecrans | October 24, 1862 | October 19, 1863 | Stone's River, Tullahoma Campaign, Chickamauga |
| Major General George H. Thomas | October 19, 1863 | August 1, 1865 | Chattanooga, Atlanta Campaign, Peachtree Creek, Nashville |
[edit] References
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Organization Of U.S. Forces In The Civil War
