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XIV Corps Civil War Facts
| The XIV Corps was constituted under General Orders No. 168, Oct. 94, 1862, which directed that the troops in the Army of the Cumberland should be designated as the XIV Corps, and that Gen. Rosecrans be placed in command. These forces had hitherto been styled the Army of the Ohio, and had been under the command of Gen. Buell. It had fought under him at Shiloh, and at Chaplin Hills, the latter battle occurring October 8th, just prior to the order designating this army as the XIV Corps. At the time of the battle of Chaplin Hills, the Army of the Ohio had been divided, by order of Buell, into the I, II, and III Corps commanded respectively by Maj. Gens. McCook, Crittenden and Gilbert. Its losses at Chaplin Hills--or Perryville- aggregated 845 killed, 2,851 wounded, and 515 missing; total, 4,211. Over 3/4 of these casualties occurred in McCook's Corps, the loss in some of his regiments being unusually large.
The XIV Corps, at the time when it was first designated as such, embraced 12 divisions, containing 155 regiments of infantry, 1 regiment of engineers, 35 batteries of light artillery, and 6 regiments of cavalry. There are no returns showing its numerical strength at this time; but, a return in December, 1862, shows all aggregate of 123,402, present and absent, with 66,795 present for duty. |
XIV Corps Flag  Department of Cumberland  After reorganization on Jan. 9, 1863 |
By authority of the War Department--General Order No. 9--January 9, 1863, the right wing, center, and left wing of the XIV Corps were designated respectively as the XX, XIV and XXI Army Corps, the commanding officers remaining unchanged. As before, these 3 corps constituted the Army of the Cumberland.
From this time on, the history of the XIV Corps is limited to the movements of the particular divisions under command of Gen. Thomas. After the battle of Stone's River, Rosecrans advanced his army to Murfreesboro, and encamped there. On June 23, 1863, orders were issued for another advance, during which the XIV Corps was engaged in the fighting at Hoover's Gap, June 24 - 25. It was then composed of the 4 divisions of Rousseau, Negley, Brannan, and Reynolds. Its losses at Hoover's Gap amounted to 27 killed, 177 wounded, and 2 missing; total, 206.
Pushing on across the Cumberland Mountains in pursuit of Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg, the XIV Corps was next engaged at Chickamauga. Gen. Baird had succeeded Rousseau in command of the 1st Division. The 4 divisions then contained 51 regiments of infantry, and 12 batteries of light artillery. In the 1st Division was the Brigade of Regulars which had distinguished itself by its gallantry and good fighting at Stone's River. The XIV Corps numbered 19,920 at Chickamauga; it lost there 664 killed, 3,555 wounded, and 1,925 missing; total, 6,144.
In pursuance of an order from President Abraham Lincoln, dated Sept. 25, 1863, the Army of the Cumberland was reorganized. Thomas succeeded Rosecrans, and Maj. Gen. John M. Palmer was placed in command of the XIV Corps. Under this reorganization the corps contained 3 divisions,--Johnson's, Davis' and Baird's,--and each division contained 3 brigades. Some of the brigades contained 9 regiments; but the regiments were small, and many of them sadly depleted. The corps roster on Oct. 20, l863 showed 64 regiments of infantry, and 9 batteries of light artillery. The corps fought at Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863, where it lost 140 killed, 787 wounded, and 14 missing; total, 941. In February, 1864, it was engaged in a sharp reconnoissance at Dalton, Ga.
On May 5, 1864, it moved with Sherman's Army on the advance which was to culminate in the possession of Atlanta. The XIV Corps took part in the opening battle of this campaign at Resaca, and was prominently engaged in the final victory at Jonesboro.
During the intervening 4 months it was actively engaged in the continuous marching and fighting which was so characteristic of that brilliant campaign. In August, while on the Atlanta Campaign, Gen. Palmer, the corps commander, was relieved upon his own request, and Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, the commander of the 2nd Division, was appointed by the President to take Palmer's place. Gen. James D. Morgan succeeded to the command of the 2nd Division. During the 4 months of the Atlanta campaign, the Army of the Cumberland-- then composed of the IV, XIV and XX Corps--lost 3,041 killed, 15,783 wounded, and 2,707 missing; total, 21,531. Of these casualties fully 1/3 occurred in the XIV Corps. To this total must be added the heavy losses of the Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of the Ohio, in order to understand the extent of the fighting while on that campaign.
After a short rest at Atlanta, and a short campaign in pursuit of Hood, the XIV Corps moved with Sherman's Army, Nov. 15, 1864, on its march to the sea, the 3 divisions of the corps being under command of Gens. Carlin, Morgan and Baird, and numbering 13,962 present for duty. The march through Georgia to the sea was all uneventful one, and no fighting occurred. Savannah was occupied December 20th, and in February, 1865, Sherman started on his march through the Carolinas. The XIV Corps, together with the XX Corps, formed the Army of Georgia, Slocum commanding both corps. On entering the Carolina Campaign, February 1, 1865, the XIV Corps reported its strength at 14,420,infantry and artillery, and contained 47 regiments of infantry, with 4 batteries of light artillery. The battle of Bentonville, N. C., occurred March 19, 1865, while on this campaign. It was a hard fought battle, in which the divisions of Carlin and Morgan, assisted by 2 brigades from Williams' (XX) Corps, did most all the fighting. This was the last battle in which the corps participated, and the veteran columns marched gayly on to the final review at Washington.
The organization was ordered discontinued August 1, 1865.
Major Battles Fought In
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