The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.

History

1st Army of the Ohio

General Orders No. 97 appointed Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell to command the

Department of the Ohio The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River. 1st Department 1861–1862 Gene ...

. All the forces of the department were then organized into the Army of the Ohio, with Buell in command. Early in 1862, the army fought its first battle at Mill Springs, although only the 1st Division, commanded by Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas, was engaged. The whole army marched to reinforce Grant's

Army of the Tennessee The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army, Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. A 2005 study of the army states that it "was present at most of the great battles that became turning points ...

at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

. Buell was replaced as commander of the Department of the Ohio by Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright in August 1862, but because of Wright's junior rank, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck ordered Thomas to replace Wright in command. However, Thomas foresaw a major battle and felt it unwise to change an army commander on the eve of battle. Thus Buell remained in command of the Army and Thomas was made his second-in-command. The battle Thomas foresaw occurred on October 8, 1862, west of Perryville, Kentucky. Confederate General Braxton Bragg had marched into Kentucky to recruit soldiers and take the state from the Union. The full force of Buell's command was gathering when Bragg attacked. Known as the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...

, or the Battle of Chaplin Hills, casualties were very high on both sides. Union casualties totaled 4,276 (894 killed, 2,911 wounded, 471 captured or missing). Confederate casualties were 3,401 (532 killed, 2,641 wounded, 228 captured or missing). Although Union losses were comparatively much higher, Bragg withdrew from Kentucky when the fighting was over, and therefore Perryville is considered a strategic victory for the Union. Buell was subsequently relieved of all field command. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was appointed to command the Army of the Ohio. He was also appointed to the command of the Department of the Cumberland and subsequently renamed his forces the Army of the Cumberland.

2nd Army of the Ohio

On 25 March 1863, Maj. Gen.

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...

assumed command of the Department of the Ohio headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. On March 19, 1863, two divisions of the IX Corps under Maj. Gen. John G. Parke had been ordered from Virginia to Burnside's department. On April 27, 1863, the War Department ordered all troops in Kentucky not belonging to IX Corps to be organized into the XXIII Corps under the commanded of Maj. Gen. George L. Hartsuff. By May 1863 Burnside had consolidated the forces of Kentucky into the IX Corps and XXIII Corps which he styled the Army of the Ohio.Army of the Ohio 1863-1865
/ref> Thus, Burnside became one of the few officers to directly command two completely different armies (he had earlier commanded the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

). The IX Corps was soon transferred to Mississippi in June to participate in the siege of Vicksburg but was returned to the Army of the Ohio in August. Meanwhile, the new Army of the Ohio' XXIII Corps repelled Morgan's Ohio raid, although the entire army rarely functioned as one complete unit during this campaign. Reunited with the IX Corps and the addition of a cavalry division, Burnside moved to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. There he defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Fort Sanders in the Knoxville Campaign. After the battle, he asked to be relieved of command due to illness. Maj. Gen. John G. Foster replaced Burnside as commander of the Army and Department of the Ohio on December 9. Foster's time in command of the Army was short. On February 9, 1864, Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield assumed command of the Department of the Ohio, and then the Army of the Ohio and the XXIII Corps in April. During this time the XXIII Corps and the Army of the Ohio were synonymous. Schofield led the Army during the Atlanta Campaign and pursued Confederate Lt. Gen.

John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the decision to replace ...

into

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

after the fall of Atlanta. At the

Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...

, Schofield inflicted a severe defeat on Hood's army before joining with Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas and the Army of the Cumberland for the Battle of Nashville. On February 9, 1865, Schofield was transferred to command the Department of North Carolina. When Schofield departed to assume departmental command, Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox temporarily assumed command of the Army. The XXIII Corps was ordered to North Carolina and only Cox's division was present for the Battle of Wilmington. It was not until March 1865 that the rest of the XXIII Corps landed at

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

. Upon the arrival of the XXIII Corps in its entirety, Schofield joined that corps with the X Corps under Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Terry to form the Army of the Ohio. The Army was designated the Center Wing of Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

's army and participated in the final stages of the Carolinas Campaign. With the close of the war, the troops were mustered out of military service. A number of post-war reunions were held by various elements of the old Army of the Ohio.

Commanders

* Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell (November 15, 1861 – October 24, 1862) ''also department commander until March 11'' * Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans (October 24–30, 1862) ''became the Army of the Cumberland'' * Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside (March 25 – December 9, 1863) ''also department commander'' * Maj. Gen. John G. Foster (December 9, 1863 – February 9, 1864) ''also department commander'' * Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield (February 9 – September 14, 1864) ''also department commander'' * Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox (September 14 – October 22, 1864) * Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield (October 22, 1864 – February 2, 1865) * Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox (February 2–9, 1865) * Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield (February 9 – March 31, 1865) ''also commander of the Department of North Carolina''

Major battles and campaigns

(Buell) *

Morgan's Raid Morgan's Raid (also the Calico Raid or Great Raid of 1863) was a diversionary incursion by Confederate States Army, Confederate cavalry into the Union (American Civil War), Union states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia during the A ...

(Burnside) * Knoxville Campaign (Burnside), (Foster) * Atlanta Campaign (Schofield) *

(Schofield) * Battle of Nashville (Schofield) * Carolinas Campaign (Schofield)

Orders of Battle

* Shiloh Union order of battle * Perryville Union order of battle * Knoxville Union order of battle * Atlanta Campaign Union order of battle * Franklin Union order of battle * Nashville Union order of battle * Wilmington Union order of battle Notes 1. Livermore, Thomas L., ''Numbers and Losses in the American Civil War 1861–1865'', New York, 1901, p. 95, cited in McDonough, James Lee, ''War in Kentucky'', University of Tennessee Press, 1994, pp 289–290. . Noe, Kenneth W. ''Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle.'' Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001. .

References

Army of the Ohio

External links

{{Union Army Formations Ohio, Army of the Tennessee in the American Civil War Kentucky in the American Civil War Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War South Carolina in the American Civil War North Carolina in the American Civil War 1861 establishments in the United States Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865