US Army Corp Escutcheon

$425.00

US Army Corp Escutcheon - Unique framed escutcheon commemorating the service of all 29 US ARMY Corps. Has a colorful battle panoply of flags and Federal eagle at the top. At the bottom of the escutcheon are Sheridan's Cavalry Insignia, Kilpatrick Cavalry Division Badge, 22nd Delaware Infantry Badge, and Wilson's Cavalry Corps Badge, very nice additions to this piece. Frame measures 26 5/8" x 15 1/2. The text of the escutcheon contains history of the 29 Army Corps:

First Army Corps - Army of Potomac, First Army Corps - Army of Virginia, Second Army Corps - Army of Virginia, Third Army Corps - Army of the Potomac, Third Army Corps - Army of Virginia, Fourth Army Corps - Army of the Potomac, Fifth Army Corps - Army of the Potomac, Sixth Army Corps - Army of the Potomac, Seventh Army Corps - Department of Virginia, Eighth Army Corps - Middle Department, Ninth Army Corps - Department of the South, Tenth Army Corps - Department of the South, Eleventh Army Corps - Army of the Potomac, Twelfth Army Corps - Army of the Potomac, Thirteenth Army Corps - Department of Tennessee, Fourteenth Army Corps - Department of the Cumberland, Fifteenth Army Corps - Department of the Tennessee, Sixteenth Army Corps - Department of the Tennessee, Seventeenth Army Corps - Department of the Tennessee, Eighteenth Army Corps - Department of North Carolina, Nineteenth Army Corps - Department of the Gulf, Twentieth Army Corps - Army of the Cumberland, Twenty-first Army Corps - Army of the Cumberland, Twenty-second Army Corps - Department of Washington, Twenty-third Army Corps - Department of Kentucky, Twenty-fourth Army Corps - Army of the James, Twenty-fifth Army Corps - Army of the James, Twenty-fifth Army Corps - Army of the James, Cavalry Corps - Army of the Potomac.

The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps (relative to the size of Union armies later in the war). Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, and it was the army that fought (and lost) the war's first major battle, the First Battle of Bull Run. The arrival in Washington, D.C., of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan dramatically changed the makeup of that army. McClellan's original assignment was to command the Division of the Potomac, which included the Department of Northeast Virginia under McDowell and the Department of Washington under Brig. Gen. Joseph K. Mansfield. On July 26, 1861, the Department of the Shenandoah, commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, was merged with McClellan's departments and on that day, McClellan formed the Army of the Potomac, which was composed of all military forces in the former Departments of Northeastern Virginia, Washington, Pennsylvania, and the Shenandoah. The men under Banks's command became an infantry division in the Army of the Potomac. The army started with four corps, but these were divided during the Peninsula Campaign to produce two more. After the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Army of the Potomac absorbed the units that had served under Maj. Gen. John Pope.

It is a popular, but mistaken, belief that John Pope commanded the Army of the Potomac in the summer of 1862 after McClellan's unsuccessful Peninsula Campaign. On the contrary, Pope's army consisted of different units, and was named the Army of Virginia. During the time that the Army of Virginia existed, the Army of the Potomac was headquartered on the Virginia Peninsula, and then outside Washington, D.C., with McClellan still in command, although three corps of the Army of the Potomac were sent to northern Virginia and were under Pope's operational control during the Northern Virginia Campaign.

The Army of the Potomac underwent many structural changes during its existence. The army was divided by Ambrose Burnside into three grand divisions of two corps each with a Reserve composed of two more. Hooker abolished the grand divisions. Thereafter the individual corps, seven of which remained in Virginia, reported directly to army headquarters. Hooker also created a Cavalry Corps by combining units that previously had served as smaller formations. In late 1863, two corps were sent West, and—in 1864—the remaining five corps were recombined into three. Burnside's IX Corps, which accompanied the army at the start of Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, rejoined the army later. For more detail, see the section Corps below.

The Army of the Potomac fought in most of the Eastern Theater campaigns, primarily in (Eastern) Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. After the end of the war, it was disbanded on June 28, 1865, shortly following its participation in the Grand Review of the Armies.

The Army of the Potomac was also the name given to General P. G. T. Beauregard's Confederate army during the early stages of the war (namely, First Bull Run; thus, the losing Union Army ended up adopting the name of the winning Confederate army). However, the name was eventually changed to the Army of Northern Virginia, which became famous under General Robert E. Lee.

Beginning on March 13, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln established corps as the major subordinate units of the Army of the Potomac. (Up until this time, McClellan resisted the formation of corps, which had been prominent features of Napoleon's army, preferring to see how his division commanders fared in combat on the Peninsula before elevating them to higher command. Lincoln selected the corps commanders based on their seniority, without McClellan's approval.) The original corps were I Corps (McDowell), II Corps (Sumner), III Corps (Heintzelman), and IV Corps (Keyes). During the Peninsula Campaign, McClellan created two more, commanded by men he considered more loyal to him: V Corps (Porter) and VI Corps (Franklin).

For the remainder of the war, corps were added and subtracted from the army. IV Corps was broken up after the Peninsula Campaign, with its headquarters and 2nd Division left behind in Yorktown, while its 1st Division moved north, attached to the VI Corps, in the Maryland Campaign. Those parts of the IV Corps that remained on the Peninsula were reassigned to the Department of Virginia and disbanded on October 1, 1863. Those added to the Army of the Potomac were IX Corps, XI Corps (Sigel's I Corps in the former Army of Virginia), XII Corps (Banks's II Corps from the Army of Virginia ), added in 1862; and the Cavalry Corps, created in 1863. Eight of these corps (seven infantry, one cavalry) served in the army during 1863, but due to attrition and transfers, the army was reorganized in March 1864 with only four corps: II, V, VI, and Cavalry. Of the original eight, I and III Corps were disbanded due to heavy casualties and their units combined into other corps. The XI and XII Corps were ordered to the West in late 1863 to support the Chattanooga Campaign, and while there were combined into the XX Corps, never returning to the East.

The IX Corps returned to the army in 1864, after being assigned to the West in 1863 and then serving alongside, but not as part of, the Army of the Potomac from March to May 24, 1864. On that latter date, IX Corps was formally added to the Army of the Potomac. Two divisions of the Cavalry Corps were transferred in August 1864 to Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah, and the 2nd Division alone remained under Meade's command. On March 26, 1865, that division was also assigned to Sheridan for the closing campaigns of the war.

Commander:Brigadier General Irvin McDowell: Commander of the Army and Department of Northeastern Virginia (May 27 – July 25, 1861)

Major General George B. McClellan: Commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, and later, the Army and Department of the Potomac (July 26, 1861 – November 9, 1862)

Major General Ambrose E. Burnside: Commander of the Army of the Potomac (November 9, 1862 – January 26, 1863)

Major General Joseph Hooker: Commander of the Army and Department of the Potomac (January 26 – June 28, 1863)

Major General George G. Meade: Commander of the Army of the Potomac (June 28, 1863 – June 28, 1865)

Major General John G. Parke took brief temporary command during Meade's absences on four occasions during this period)

Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, located his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac and provided operational direction to Meade from May 1864 to April 1865, but Meade retained formal command.

Major battles and campaigns:

First Bull Run Campaign or First Manassas: McDowell (as "Army of Northeastern Virginia")

Peninsula Campaign, including the Seven Days Battles: McClellan

Northern Virginia Campaign, including the Second Battle of Bull Run (I, XI, XII Corps participated under the control of the Army of Virginia)

Maryland Campaign, including the Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg: McClellan

Fredericksburg Campaign: Burnside

Chancellorsville Campaign: Hooker

Gettysburg Campaign: Hooker/Meade (Meade appointed June 28, 1863)

Bristoe Campaign: Meade

Mine Run Campaign: Meade

Overland Campaign: Meade

Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, including the Battle of the Crater: Grant/Meade

Appomattox Campaign, including Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House: Grant/Meade

The Army of Virginia was constituted on June 26, 1862, by General Orders Number 103, from four existing departments operating around Virginia: Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont's Mountain Department, Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Department of the Rappahannock, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's Department of the Shenandoah, and Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis's brigade from the Military District of Washington. Maj. Gen. John Pope commanded the new organization, which was divided into three corps of over 50,000 men. Three corps of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac later were added for combat operations.

Banks's corps of the Army of Virginia fought against Stonewall Jackson at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, gaining initial advantage, but was defeated by a Confederate counterattack led by A.P. Hill.

The entire army was soundly defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run by Jackson, Longstreet, and Lee, and withdrew to the defensive lines of Washington, D.C.. On September 12, 1862, the units of the Army of Virginia were merged into the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia was never reconstituted.

Banks's corps of the Army of Virginia fought against Stonewall Jackson at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, gaining initial advantage, but was defeated by a Confederate counterattack led by A.P. Hill.

Commander:

Major General John Pope (June 26 – September 12)

Organization:

The first three corps were given numeric designations that overlapped with those in the Army of the Potomac. They were redesignated as shown for the Maryland Campaign and later.

I Corps, Army of Virginia; commanded by Franz Sigel (this corps had been the Mountain Department under John Frémont; it eventually became the XI Corps, Army of the Potomac)

II Corps, Army of Virginia; commanded by Nathaniel Banks (formerly known as V Corps and Department of the Shenandoah; later known as XII Corps, Army of the Potomac)

III Corps, Army of Virginia; commanded by Irvin McDowell (formerly known as I Corps and Department of the Rappahannock; reverted to I Corps, Army of the Potomac)

Cavalry Brigade, commanded by George Bayard

The following corps were attached for operations during the Northern Virginia Campaign:

III Corps, Army of the Potomac; commanded by Samuel P. Heintzelman

V Corps, Army of the Potomac; commanded by Fitz John Porter

IX Corps, Army of the Potomac; commanded by Jesse L. Reno

Reynolds's Division, commanded by John F. Reynolds (the Pennsylvania Reserves)

Major battles:

Battle of Cedar Mountain – Pope (Only Banks's II Corps was involved in the fighting)

Second Battle of Bull Run – Pope

Battle of Chantilly – Pope (although fought mostly by Army of the Potomac troops, elements of Pope's force were engaged).

During the American Civil War, the Department of the South comprised Union Army troops occupying the states of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. This included troops stationed at Hilton Head, Morris Island, Savannah, Georgia and Pensacola, Florida. Until 1864, its command was co-terminus with that of the X Corps.

Commanders:

Major General David Hunter, March 31 to September 3, 1862

Major General Ormsby M. Mitchel, September 3, 1862 to October 30, 1862 (died of yellow fever)

Brigadier General John M. Brannan, October 30, 1862 to January 21, 1863

Major General David Hunter, January 21 to June 3, 1863

Major General Quincy Adams Gilmore, June 12, 1863, to May 1, 1864

Brigadier General John P. Hatch, May 1, 1864 to May 26, 1864

Major General John G. Foster, May 26, 1864 to February 11, 1865

Major General Quincy Adams Gilmore, February 9 to November 17, 1865

The Army of the James:

The Union Departments of Virginia and North Carolina merged in 1863. Troops from these departments formed the XVIII Corps. In April 1864 the X Corps was transferred from the Department of the South and the two corps formed the Army of the James. Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was placed in command.

During Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign in 1864, Butler made several unsuccessful attempts at Petersburg and Richmond. At the Battle of Cold Harbor the XVIII Corps was sent to act under the Army of the Potomac. The XVIII Corps also participated in the Siege of Petersburg. During the siege the Army of the James was mainly involved in the investment of Richmond.

Butler's only major success as commander of the army was in September 1864 at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, in which the army took a significant portion of the Confederate works guarding Richmond, including Fort Harrison. In December the army was reorganized and the XVIII and X Corps were for the time discontinued. All the black troops in the army were formed into the XXV Corps and the white troops into the XXIV Corps and the Departments of Virginia and North Carolina were separated. Units from the former XVIII Corps and X Corps were formed into the "Fort Fisher Expeditionary Corps" and sailed to Fort Fisher. Butler used his position as department commander to assume personal command of the expedition, but after his failure at the First Battle of Fort Fisher, Grant took the opportunity to relieve Butler of command. Maj. Gen. Edward Ord was placed in command of the Army of the James.

Under Ord's leadership the Army of the James was to achieve its greatest success. The XXIV Corps participated in the final assaults on Petersburg, while the XXV Corps was the first unit to enter the fallen city of Richmond. Ord and the XXIV Corps followed the Confederates to Appomattox Court House where they cut off Robert E. Lee's escape route. The Army of the James was then present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Command history:

Major General Benjamin F. Butler (April 28, 1864 – January 8, 1865)

Major General Edward Ord (January 8, 1865 – August 1, 1865)

Major battles and campaigns[edit]

Bermuda Hundred Campaign

Battle of Cold Harbor (Only the XVIII Corps was involved from the Army of the James)

Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Richmond

Battle of Chaffin's Farm

First Battle of Fort Fisher

Second Battle of Fort Fisher

Battle of Wilmington

Fall of Petersburg

Fall of Richmond (Only the XXV Corps was involved from the Army of the James)

Appomattox Campaign

Inventory number: DOC 081

US Army Corp Escutcheon

Featured Products