The Army of the Gulf was a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

that served in the general area of the Gulf states controlled by Union forces. It mainly saw action in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

History

The

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was co ...

was created following the

capture of New Orleans The capture of New Orleans (April 25 – May 1, 1862) during the American Civil War was a turning point in the war, which precipitated the capture of the Mississippi River. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was ...

by Admiral David G. Farragut in 1862. The commander of the Union occupation forces, Benjamin F. Butler, was placed in command of the department. In March, Butler assumed command of the department, and the Army of the Gulf was created from the troops now designated to the Department of the Gulf. The army saw little action the rest of 1862 and Butler was replaced by Major General

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...

on December 17. Banks assumed command of the Department of the Gulf and the Army of the Gulf. At the time the Army of the Gulf consisted of only one corps, the XIX Corps, which Banks was also appointed command of. Banks led the army in several engagements in lower Louisiana that eventually led to the

Siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, Ge ...

, this army's first major engagement. The army endured the siege and the post was finally surrendered by Confederate forces on July 9, 1863. The next year the XIII Corps and two divisions of the XVI Corps were added to the department, increasing the army to over three corps. Banks retained command of the army and department while Gen.

William H. Emory William Hemsley Emory (September 7, 1811 – December 1, 1887) was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer in the 19th century. As an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers he specialized in mapping the United State ...

assumed command of the XIX Corps. In March 1864, Banks began his disastrous Red River Campaign. After it failed, he resigned from the Army and was replaced by Maj. Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut. The XIX Corps was sent to the Shenandoah Valley, and the forces that remained in the army participated in the land attack at the

Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

. Late in the war, Maj. Gen.

Edward Canby Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Department of New Mexico, defeating the Confederate Gen ...

's Military Division of West Mississippi was given the army's two remaining corps, the XIII and the XVI, for a planned offensive to capture the city of

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

. During this operation, Canby renamed the force the

Army of West Mississippi The Army of West Mississippi was a Union army that served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was virtually the same force as the Army of the Gulf, but was renamed when it became a part of the Military Division of West Mississip ...

after the military division that he commanded. Although now under a different title, the force was virtually the same army and it took part in the

Battle of Spanish Fort The Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Mobile ...

and the

Battle of Fort Blakely The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, about north of Spanish Fort, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War. At the time, Blakeley, Alabama, had been the co ...

. Canby was appointed command of the

at the closing of the war and the forces once again became the Army of the Gulf.

Command history

Battle orders

Port Hudson order of battle The following is the organization of the Union forces engaged at the Siege of Port Hudson, during the American Civil War in 1863. The Confederate order of battle is listed separately. Abbreviations used Military rank * MG = Major General * BG = B ...

References

*Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .
Army and Department of the Gulf

History

Command history

Battle orders

References

See also