TheKenoshaKid
Private
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2010
They fought a lot in the Seven Days battles, but after that their record gets strange for quite a while:
- Second Bull Run: barely engaged
- Maryland Campaign: Fought at Crampton's Gap. Mostly not engaged at Antietam.
- Fredericksburg: Lightly engaged
- Chancellorsville: Fought at 2nd Fredericksburg and Salem Church seperate from the rest of the army
- Gettysburg: Barely engaged
They didn't seem to really fight alongside the rest of the Army of the Potomac until the Overland Campaign. That means for about 1 year and 10 months (July 1862 - May 1864) they seemingly were in charge of what the rest of the army wasn't doing. Then after the first couple of assaults on Petersburg they were sent to the Shenandoah to fight Early.
What was the reason for this? Coincidence, or was there some other reason? I believe Hooker and Franklin hated Burnside's plan so much they refused to send in extra troops, and I think Newton was one of the guys who approached Lincoln about replacing Burnside. That may explain Fredericksburg, but what about the rest?
It seems like they spent most of their time operating as their own independent force. I know the IX Corps was similar in that regard, but the IX Corps didn't join until after the peninsula and there was the whole Burnside vs. Meade thing. I can't figure out why the VI Corps was often the odd corps out.
- Second Bull Run: barely engaged
- Maryland Campaign: Fought at Crampton's Gap. Mostly not engaged at Antietam.
- Fredericksburg: Lightly engaged
- Chancellorsville: Fought at 2nd Fredericksburg and Salem Church seperate from the rest of the army
- Gettysburg: Barely engaged
They didn't seem to really fight alongside the rest of the Army of the Potomac until the Overland Campaign. That means for about 1 year and 10 months (July 1862 - May 1864) they seemingly were in charge of what the rest of the army wasn't doing. Then after the first couple of assaults on Petersburg they were sent to the Shenandoah to fight Early.
What was the reason for this? Coincidence, or was there some other reason? I believe Hooker and Franklin hated Burnside's plan so much they refused to send in extra troops, and I think Newton was one of the guys who approached Lincoln about replacing Burnside. That may explain Fredericksburg, but what about the rest?
It seems like they spent most of their time operating as their own independent force. I know the IX Corps was similar in that regard, but the IX Corps didn't join until after the peninsula and there was the whole Burnside vs. Meade thing. I can't figure out why the VI Corps was often the odd corps out.