Trivia 1-14-19 Commanders

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Since you are leaving out Irwin McDowell as one of them - the 5 must be:
1. George McClellan
2. Ambrose Burnside
3. Joe Hooker
4. George Meade
5. John G. Parke (took brief temporary command during Meade's absences on four occasions during this period). He was acting commander during the Battle of Fort Stedman until Meade returned to the field.
https://www.geni.com/projects/Army-of-the-Potomac-USA-US-Civil-War/4298
 
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McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade all were commanders of the Army of the Potomac. John Parker temporarily commanded the Army of the Potomac four time while Meade was commander during his absences.

John Parke...stupid auto correct.

McDowell commanded the Army of Northeastern Virginia and although Pope is sometimes mentioned as commander of the Army of the Potomac, his army was technically the Army of Virginia while the Army of the Potomac operated on the Virginia Peninsula and around Washington
 
Because Irvin McDowell led the not specifically named “Federal Army” during July 1861, and John Pope was “Army of Virginia”, there were technically four commanders of the Union Army of the Potomac:
George McClellan
Ambrose Burnside
Joseph Hooker
George Meade

AND one commander of the Confederate Army of the Potomac in the First Manassas campaign:
PGT Beauregard

Nice, cleverly worded question there!

Edit - Actually, the questioner intended his question to apply strictly to the Union Army of the Potomac.

But he didn't specify that, so your answer is correct.

hoosier
 
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George Brinton McClellan
Ambrose Burnside
Joseph Hooker
George Meade
John Parke


This question was asked in March of '17 (3/29/17 to be exact). Hoosier had the perfect answer in my opinion. Here it is.

Wikipedia says there were six: Irvin McDowell, George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, George Meade, and John Parke.

It could be argued that McDowell shouldn't count, since the army wasn't called the "Army of the Potomac" when he commanded it. It could also be argued that McDowell should count, since the army he commanded did ultimately become the Army of the Potomac.

It could be argued that Parke shouldn't count, since he assumed command only temporarily during periods when Meade was absent, with full understanding that Meade would resume command upon his return. It could also be argued that Parke should count, since the question asked for all generals who ever commanded the Army of the Potomac, so even if the command was temporary, Parke did command the army.

Unless somebody comes up with something really surprising, here's the way I plan to score this question.

Correct answers must include all four of McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, and Meade. Because the questions of whether McDowell and Parke should be included are debatable, I will accept answers that include both McDowell and Parke, McDowell but not Parke, or Parke but not McDowell. I will also accept answers that exclude both of them.

Better words were never said on this question.


Edit - Thanks for the kind words.

Interestingly, the person who posted the question in March of 2017 was BrianB - the same person who posted the very similar question this time. However, this time he took care to specify that he wanted five names as a correct answer and that McDowell should not be one of them.

So McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade, and Parke are five names that should count as commanders of the Army of the Potomac.

Unless, of course, somebody recognizes (as some of our players did) that there were both a Union Army of the Potomac and a Confederate Army of the Potomac, which opened up P. G. T. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston as correct answers. :wink:

hoosier
 
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List all the commanders of the Army of the Potomac (hint: Irwin McDowell is not one of them!)

*looking for 5 (five) Names

credit: @BrianB
Irwin McDowell commanded the predecessor unit, the Army and Department of Northeastern Virginia (May 27 – July 25, 1861).
The five commanders of that unit after reorganization as the Army of the Potomac were:

  1. George McClellan commanded the Military Division of the Potomac, and later, the Army and Department of the Potomac (July 26, 1861 – November 9, 1862);
  2. Ambrose Burnside commanded the Army of the Potomac (November 9, 1862 – January 26, 1863);
  3. Joseph Hooker commanded the Army and Department of the Potomac (January 26 – June 28, 1863);
  4. George Meade commanded the Army of the Potomac† (June 28, 1863 – June 28, 1865).
  5. John Parke temporarily commanded the Army of the Potomac during Meade's four brief absences.
 
List all the commanders of the Army of the Potomac (hint: Irwin McDowell is not one of them!)

*looking for 5 (five) Names

credit: @BrianB

1) George McClellan
2) Ambrose Burnside
3) Joseph Hooker
4) Darius Couch, temporarily
5) George Meade

Edit - It is true that Darius Couch assumed command temporarily when Hooker was knocked silly by the impact of an exploding shell at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Since the official answer recognizes John Parke, who also assumed command on a temporary basis, I have to accept Couch as a correct answer.

hoosier
 
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