Corps History XIII Corps (Union Army)

1 corps history

1.1 creation
1.2 arkansas post
1.3 vicksburg
1.4 texas , louisiana
1.5 red river
1.6 mobile

corps history
creation

the xiii corps, along xiv corps, both put commission on october 24, 1862 passing of general orders no. 168. these 2 corps first corps created in western theater. while xiv corps constituted forces under command of william s. rosecrans, xiii corps likewise constituted forces under ulysses s. grant.

because of corps immense size , fact virtually synonymous army of tennessee, grant chose subdivide corps right, left , center wings. in december 1862 officially divided xiii corps, xv corps, xvi corps , xvii corps. grant remained in command of army of tennessee , john a. mcclernand assumed command of xiii corps. before official order passed along wing commanders, william t. sherman, commander of right wing, embarked on expedition against vicksburg. sherman s wing of xiii corps fought battle of chickasaw bayou on december 26–29. although official date right wing designated xv corps december 22, of reports regarding battle @ chickasaw bluffs still refer union forces part of xiii corps. no matter designation, first time many of troops had been under fire.

arkansas post

adding identity crisis xiii corps faced in years john a. mcclernand s expedition against fort hindman @ arkansas post. mcclernand given xiii corps , sherman s xv corps (now officially using designation). mcclernand labeled these forces army of mississippi , renamed xiii corps corps , xv corps ii corps . mcclernand commanded army , placed general george w. morgan in command of corps (former xiii corps). divisions of andrew j. smith , peter j. osterhaus participated in battle. stephen burbridge s brigade of smith s division bore heavy fighting.

vicksburg

with impending campaign against vicksburg, grant took personal command of operation. mcclernand returned corps command , army of mississippi merged army of tennessee , xiii corps took on official title. vicksburg campaign opened xiii corps composed of 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th , 14th divisions commanded respectively osterhaus, a. j. smith, alvin p. hovey, leonard f. ross , eugene a. carr. ross division stationed in arkansas during entire campaign , did not participate in engagements rest of corps. in july, division (now led frederick salomon) fought @ battle of helena part of district of eastern arkansas under benjamin m. prentiss.

the battle of port gibson fought xiii corps, aid of portion of xvii corps. mcclernand did not bring full force of corps bear @ battle of champion hill hovey s division led attack on confederate right. following victory @ champion s hill battle of big black river bridge again fought exclusively xiii corps, carr s division bearing brunt of fight.

when grant initiated siege operations xiii corps took position on union left. during assaults on vicksburg xiii corps lost 1,500 soldiers.

mcclernand had been long time thorn in grant s side , on june 19, grant found opportunity remove him command. replacement edward o. c. ord, friend of grant s had recovered wound sustained in 1862. ord led corps throughout rest of siege. after vicksburg fell, william t. sherman led expedition jackson, mississippi clear city of confederates had gathered there. sherman took him xiii corps , attached division under jacob g. lauman xvi corps. general carr, temporarily left army due sickness, had been replaced in division command william p. benton.

texas , louisiana

after fall of jackson corps returned vicksburg , transferred department of gulf. district of eastern arkansas had been detached corps; aj smith had been reassigned command post in tennessee; osterhaus had been reassigned command division in xv corps; hovey took leave of army due death of wife; 2 of divisions in field consolidated under command of cadwallader c. washburn; , general herron s division attached.

general banks used xiii corps conduct coastal campaign against texas during fall of 1863, capturing brownsville. february 1864 corps headquarters in texas , general mcclernand had returned command.

red river

the 1st , 2nd divisions remained in texas nathaniel p. banks took him 3rd , 4th divisions during red river campaign. during first part of campaign corps commanded thomas e. g. ransom, 3rd division general robert a. cameron , 4th division colonel william j. landram. corps fought @ battle of mansfield. ransom wounded @ mansfield , succeeded in command of corps general cameron. few weeks later michael k. lawler of 1st division in texas became official corps commander. general mcclernand assumed direct command of 2 divisions fighting in louisiana under banks. mcclernand relieved of command due ill health , lawler himself commanded detachment. shortly after william p. benton assigned corps command lawler remained in command of detachment in louisiana. lawler led xiii corps detachment @ battle of mansura.

mobile

the corps discontinued on june 11, 1864. on february 18, 1865 reorganized under command of gordon granger 3 divisions commanded respectively james c. veatch, christopher c. andrews , william p. benton. new form of xiii corps fought in battle of fort blakely led fall of city of mobile, alabama. corps discontinued final time july 20, 1865.

the men of xiii corps never designated official corps badge , therefore never wore form of corps badge during war.