The following Union Army units and commanders were the initial structure on April 4, 1862 of the Union Department of the Potomac during the Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War. This list includes units deployed to the Virginia Peninsula, and those that remained in the Washington area.[1] The Confederate order of battle is listed separately.
Abbreviations used
Military rank
- MG = Major General
- BG = Brigadier General
- Col = Colonel
- Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel
- Maj = Major
- Cpt = Captain
- Lt = Lieutenant
Army of the Potomac
The following units were the initial organization of the Army of the Potomac on the peninsula.
MG George B. McClellan, Commanding
Headquarters and Body Guard
- Co. A, 4th U.S. Cavalry: Lt James B. McIntire
- Co. E, 4th U.S. Cavalry: Lt William O'Connell
- Oneida Independent Cavalry Company: Cpt Daniel P. Mann
- Sturges' Rifles: Cpt James Steele
Provost Guard
- 2nd U.S. Cavalry: Maj Alfred Pleasonton
- Battalion of 8th U.S. Infantry (Cos. F & G) and 17th U.S. Infantry (Cos. B & D): Maj George L. Willard
Staff
Col Randolph B. Marcy, Chief of Staff
Maj Granville O. Haller, Commandant of General Headquarters
Function | Individuals |
---|---|
Adjutant |
|
Inspector General
Col Delos B. Sackett |
|
Engineers |
|
Topographical Engineers |
|
Medical Corps |
Surgeons and Nurses |
Quartermaster |
|
Commissary
Col Henry F. Clarke |
|
Ordnance
Cpt Charles P. Kingsbury |
|
Provost-Marshal |
|
Judge Advocate
Col Thomas T. Gantt |
|
Signal Corps
Maj Albert J. Myer |
|
Telegraphic Office
Maj Thomas Eckert |
|
Balloon Corps
Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe |
|
Personal Staff |
|
II Corps
BG Edwin Sumner, Commanding
Ltc Joseph H. Taylor, Adjutant
Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
---|---|---|
First Division |
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade |
| |
Artillery |
| |
Second Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade | ||
Third Brigade |
| |
Artillery |
| |
Cavalry reserve |
Unbrigaded |
|
N.B. The Third Division under BG Louis Blenker was detached in early April and transferred to the Mountain Department
III Corps
BG Samuel P. Heintzelman, Commanding
Cpt Chauncey McKeever, Chief of Staff
Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
---|---|---|
First Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade |
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Second Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade ("2nd New Jersey Brigade")
Col Samuel H. Starr |
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Third Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade | ||
Artillery
|
| |
Cavalry reserve |
Unbrigaded | |
Porter's Division was combined with Sykes' Division of the Reserve Corps and McCall's Division of the First Corps to form the Fifth Corps (Provisional) on May 18, 1862.
IV Corps
BG Erasmus D. Keyes, Commanding
Ltc Charles C. Suydam
Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
---|---|---|
First Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade
|
| |
Third Brigade
|
| |
Artillery |
| |
Second Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade |
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Third Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade |
| |
Artillery |
| |
Cavalry Reserve | Unbrigaded |
|
W.F. Smith's Division was combined with Franklin's Division of the First Corps to form the Sixth Corps (Provisional) on May 18, 1862.
Reserves
Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
---|---|---|
Cavalry
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Artillery
|
Horse Artillery Brigade
|
|
Second Brigade
|
| |
Third Brigade
|
| |
Engineers |
Volunteers |
|
Regulars |
| |
Artillery Siege Train
|
||
Infantry |
Regulars
|
|
Sykes' Division was combined with Porter's Division of the Third Corps and McCall's Division of the First Corps to form the Fifth Corps (Provisional) on May 18, 1862.
Other Troops from the Department of the Potomac
The following troops were part of the Department of the Potomac in March and April 1861, but were detached to maintain defense of the Potomac River line.
I Corps
On April 4, the First Corps was renamed the Department of the Rappahannock, with authority to include the District of Columbia, Maryland between the Potomac and Patuxent, and Virginia between the Blue Ridge and the Fredericksburg & Richmond Railroad.
MG Irvin McDowell, Commanding
Ltc Edmund Schriver, Chief of Staff
Unattached cavalry
- 1st New York Cavalry: Col Andrew T. McReynolds
- 2nd New York Cavalry: Col J. Mansfield Davies
- 4th New York Cavalry: Col Christian F. Dickel
Sharpshooters
- 2nd Regiment, Berdan Sharpshooters: Col Henry A.V. Post
Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
---|---|---|
First Division
|
First Brigade
|
|
Second Brigade
|
| |
Third Brigade
|
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Second Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade
|
| |
Third Brigade
|
| |
Skirmishers |
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Third Division
|
First Brigade |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade
BG John Gibbon |
| |
Artillery |
| |
McCall's Division transferred to the Peninsula and was combined with Porter's Division of the Third Corps and Sykes' Division of the Reserve Corps to form the Fifth Corps (Provisional) on May 18, 1862. Franklin's Division transferred to the Peninsula and was combined with W.F. Smith's Division of the Fourth Corps to form the Sixth Corps (Provisional) on May 18, 1862.
V Corps
On April 4, the Fifth Corps was renamed the Department of Shenandoah with authority over Maryland between the Blue Ridge and Flintstone Creek, Virginia between the Blue Ridge and the modern-day border with West Virginia.
MG Nathaniel P. Banks, Commanding
Cpt Louis H. Pelouze, Acting Assistant Adjutant General
Unattached Infantry
- 28th Pennsylvania: Col John W. Geary
- 4th Regiment Potomac Home Brigade (Maryland): ?
Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
---|---|---|
First Division
|
First Brigade
|
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade |
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Second Division |
First Brigade
Col Nathan Kimball |
|
Second Brigade |
| |
Third Brigade
|
| |
Artillery
|
| |
Cavalry |
Unbrigaded
|
|
Shields' Division was transferred to the Department of the Rappahannock on May 10, 1862
District of Washington
BG James S. Wadsworth, Commanding
Regiments and others | Camp Location |
---|---|
1st New Jersey Cavalry: Col William Halstead | Alexandria City |
4th Pennsylvania Cavalry: Col James H. Childs | East of the Capitol |
10th New Jersey: Col William Bryan | Bladensburg Road |
104th New York: Col John Rohrbach | Kalorama Heights |
1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery: ? | Fort Cass (Alexandria Co.) |
New York Artillery (three batteries): ? |
|
Depot of New York Light Artillery: ? | Camp Barry |
2nd District of Columbia: Col Charles M. Alexander | Washington City |
26th Pennsylvania: Col William F. Small | G Street Wharf |
26th New York: Col William H. Christian | Fort Lyon (present-day Huntington) |
95th New York: Col George H. Biddle | Camp Thomas |
|
Alexandria City |
91st Pennsylvania: Col Edgar I. Gregory | Franklin Square Barracks (Franklin Square) |
4th New York Heavy Artillery: Col T.D. Doubleday |
|
112th Pennsylvania: Col Charles Angeroth | Fort Saratoga |
76th New York: Ltc John D. Shaul | Fort Massachusetts (Washington Co.) |
59th New York: Col William L. Tidball | Fort Pennsylvania (Tenleytown) |
Detachment of 88th Pennsylvania: ? | Fort Good Hope |
99th Pennsylvania: Col Peter Fritz | Fort Mahon |
2nd New York Light Artillery: ? |
|
|
Kendall Green (present-day Gallaudet University) |
|
East of the Capitol |
|
|
|
Fort Washington (present-day Fort Washington, Maryland) |
|
Fort Corcoran (present-day Rosslyn) |
Railroad Guards
Col Dixon S. Miles
- 6th New York Cavalry (Cos. A, B, C, E, G, I, K, & M dismounted): Col Thomas Devin
10th New York Cavalry (dismounted): Col John Lemmon[8]- 11th New York Cavalry (dismounted): Col James B. Swain
- 2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry (dismounted): Col Richard Butler Price
Troops Around Baltimore
On March 22, the Middle Department was created with authority over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, as well as the Maryland counties of Cecil, Hartford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel. Dix remained in command.
MG John A. Dix, Commanding
Maj Daniel Tompkins Van Buren, Chief of Staff and Acting Assistant Adjutant General
Type of Units | Regiments and others |
---|---|
Cavalry |
|
Artillery |
|
Infantry |
|
Department of Virginia
The Department of Virginia constituted an area 60 miles from Fort Monroe. McClellan had received permission to absorb it into his army as a division of the First Corps, but it was rescinded shortly after he arrived on the Peninsula.
MG John E. Wool, Commanding
Location | Regiments and others |
---|---|
Fort Monroe
|
|
Camp Hamilton
|
|
Camp Butler |
|
Fort Wool
|
|
References
- Troops of the Army of the Potomac sent to the Peninsula in March and early in April, 1862 The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. United States War Department. Series I, Volume V, Chapter XXIV, pp. 19–32. (1881)
- Additional Aides-de-Camp The New York Times. January 11, 1862.
- Carter, Robert Goldwaithe (1978) [1913]. Four Brothers in Blue: A Story of the Great Civil War from Bull Run to Appomattox. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-8061-3185-3.
- ↑ Multiple commander names indicate command succession of command during the battle or the campaign.
- ↑ The custom of the time was to attach the suffix "junior" to the younger living family member of the same name, not keep it consistent.
- ↑ Later renamed 14th Independent Battery New York Artillery
- ↑ In May the 90-day regiment would be mustered out and then mustered in as the 82nd New York, a three-year regiment
- ↑ McClellan lists these units as being part of the New York State Militia, since all had previously served as ninety-days regiments with different numbers. But by March, they had all been mustered in as three-years regiments with these unit numbers.
- ↑ No such battery is recorded outside of McClellan's official report. Ohio did not form a 4th Regiment of Artillery.
- ↑ Listed by McClellan as present at the time of the Peninsula campaign, though it had already departed for Florida
- ↑ Listed by McClellan as present at the time of the Peninsula campaign, though it was actually in Gettysburg at the time and would not join the Department of the Potomac until August.
- ↑ Companies A, B, C, and D of the New York Mounted Rifles were all that had been recruited. Companies E and H were added in August, and Companies I through M were added in September.