Reorganization of the Army of the James in Dec 1864

Joshism

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For simplicity I'll quote Wikipedia: "In December the army was reorganized and the XVIII and X Corps were for the time discontinued. All the black troops in the army were formed into the XXV Corps and the white troops into the XXIV Corps and the Departments of Virginia and North Carolina were separated."

Noah Andre Trudeau's "The Last Citadel" mentions the change in passing, with a vague explanation about white and black regiments not fighting well together.

Why did this change take place, and why in December 1864? I assume political considerations were involved...
 
For simplicity I'll quote Wikipedia: "In December the army was reorganized and the XVIII and X Corps were for the time discontinued. All the black troops in the army were formed into the XXV Corps and the white troops into the XXIV Corps and the Departments of Virginia and North Carolina were separated."

Noah Andre Trudeau's "The Last Citadel" mentions the change in passing, with a vague explanation about white and black regiments not fighting well together.

Why did this change take place, and why in December 1864? I assume political considerations were involved...

I can't say specifically, but generally speaking it was part of an overall trend. When blacks were first allowed to start serving, they served in segregated regiments and brigades. Then they were organized into segregated divisions, and finally segregated corps.
 
Butler asked Meade for, and received, the Black division of the Ninth Corps, AotP in exchange for Hartranft's Division of Pennsylvania regiments in the 200s. Hartranft's division later helped save the day at the Battle of Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865. Part of Butler's command was to be used to attack Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina on Christmas Day, 1864. Once Butler had two Black divisions, he naturally grouped them into their own corps. As has been stated, Butler was a champion of USCTs, allowing them to fight numerous times on his front. Meade was at best ambivalent towards Black troops, and was only too happy to be rid of them. In the end, none of this mattered. Butler's disastrous assault at Fort Fisher caused him to be sacked. Ord, not known for his love of USCTs, took command of the Army of the James, and the Black troops of the Twenty-Fifth Corps were not given a chance to showcase their skills in the final battles around Richmond. I did a post on this topic back in December 2014 on my Siege of Petersburg web site if you're interested in reading more.
 
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