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The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.
History The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was only the size of a corps (relatively speaking). Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, and it was the army that fought (and lost) the war's first major battle, the First Battle of Bull Run. The arrival in Washington, D.C., of Major General George B. McClellan dramatically changed the makeup of that army. McClellan's original assignment was to command the Division of the Potomac, which included the Department of Northeast Virginia under McDowell and the Department of Washington under Brig. Gen. Joseph K. Mansfield. On July 26, 1861, the Department of the Shenandoah, commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, was merged with McClellan's departments and on that day, McClellan formed the Army of the Potomac, which was composed of all military forces in the former Departments of Northeastern Virginia, Washington, Baltimore, and the Shenandoah. The men under Banks's command became an infantry division in the Army of the Potomac. The Army of the Potomac was also the name given to General P.G.T. Beauregard's Confederate army during the early stages of the war (namely, First Bull Run; thus, the losing Union Army ended up adopting the name of the winning Confederate army). However, the name was eventually changed to the Army of Northern Virginia, which became famous under General Robert E. Lee. It is a popular, but mistaken, belief that Maj. Gen. John Pope commanded the Army of the Potomac in the summer of 1862 after McClellan's unsuccessful Peninsula Campaign. However, Pope's army consisted of different units and was named the Army of Virginia. During the time that the Army of Virginia existed, the Army of the Potomac was headquartered on the Virginia Peninsula, with McClellan still in command, although three corps of the Army of the Potomac were sent to northern Virginia and were under Pope's operational control during the Second Battle of Bull Run. The Army of the Potomac underwent many structural changes during its existence. It fought in most of the Eastern Theater campaigns, primarily in (Eastern) Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It was disbanded on June 28, 1865, after the end of the war. Well known units Because of the promixity to the large cities of the North, such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City, the Army of the Potomac received more contemporary media coverage than the other Union field armies. Such coverage produced fame for a number of the Army's units. Individual brigades, such as the Irish Brigade, the Philadelphia Brigade, the First New Jersey Brigade, the Vermont Brigade, and the Iron Brigade, all became well known to the general public, both during the war and after. Commanders Major battles and campaigns Notes Further reading | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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