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IX Corps Civil War Facts
| A wandering corps, whose dead lie buried in 7 states. Although the official order designating its number was not issued until July 22, 1862, still, the corps organization might properly be considered as dating back to the Burnside expedition to North Carolina, in February, 1862, and to the operations about Hilton Head, South Carolina; because, the troops engaged in these movements were the only ones used in the formation of the corps. In July, 1862, 2 of Burnside's brigades left North Carolina and | IX Corps Flag  |
After a short stay at Newport News, the corps was ordered to reenforce Gen. John Pope, and at Manassas/Bull Run, it fought its first battle as the IX Corps. Only the 2 divisions of Stevens and Reno were engaged in this action; they numbered 12 regiments and 2 batteries,--less than 5,000 men, all told. General Reno was in command of both divisions, Burnsido having been engaged at Fredericksburg in attending to the forwarding of troops. The losses in this small command at Manassas amounted to 204 killed, 1,000 wounded, and 319 missing; total, 1,523. Some of the regiments encountered a severe fire, the 28th Massachusetts losing 234 men. Stevens was killed at Chantilly.
Gen. Reno retained command of the corps on the Maryland campaign, Burnside having charge of the right wing of the Army, which was composed of the I and IX Corps. Gen. Willcox was appointed to the command of Stevens' (1st) Division, while the 2nd and 3rd Divisions were commanded, respectively, by Gens. Sturgis and Rodman. During this campaign, Cox's Kanawha Division was temporarily attached to the corps. The command had also been greatly strengthened by the accession of several new regiments, just organized under the recent call for troops, and its 4 divisions now numbered 29 regiments, and 5 batteries, with 13,819 present for duty, including the non-combatants.
The battle of South Mountain was fought wholly by Burnside's 2 corps, the IX Corps losing 157 killed, 691 wounded, and 41 missing; total, 889. The loss in the I Corps was about the same. Reno was killed in this action, upon which Cox succeeded to his command. At Antietam the corps lost 438 killed, 1,796 wounded, and 115 missing; total, 2,349, out of about 8,500 in action. Rodman was among the mortally wounded.
In October, Cox's Division returned to West Virginia, whence it had been withdrawn to reenforce Pope, and its brief connection with the corps terminated. This division had made a brilliant record by its gallant services at South Mountain and Antietam.
Upon the departure of Cox, the command of the corps fell to Gen. Willcox.. Gen. W. W. Burns was appointed to fill the vacancy thus caused in the 1st Division, and Gen. George W. Getty was placed in command o the 3rd Division, formerly Rodman's. On November 5, 1862, Burnside was made commander-in-chief of the Army of the Potomac.
At Fredericksburg, the casualty lists indicate that the corps took into action 31 regiments and 5 batteries, with a loss of 111 killed, 1,067 wounded, and 152 missing; total, 1,330. Not long after this battle Sedgwick was assigned to the command of the corps, and Willcox returned to the command of his division, relieving Burns.
On February 5, 1863, Sedgwick was succeeded by Gen. W. F. Smith, and on the 12th the corps was ordered to Newport News, where it was pleasantly encamped for a month. Gen. Smith's stay with the corps was of short duration, for he was succeeded in the following month by Gen. John G. Parke. While Newport News, Getty's (3d) Division was detached and ordered to Suffolk, North Carolina, where it was subsequently incorporated in the VII Corps. It never rejoined its old command, although, in 1864, one of its regiments, the 4th Rhode Island, was restored to the IX Corps.
In the meantime, Burnside had been assigned to the command of the Department of Ohio, a district which included Kentucky and East Tennessee. He obtained permission for the transfer of his old corps to this field of operations, and, so, on the 19th of March, 1863, Parke was ordered to proceed there with his 2 remaining divisions, Willcox's and Sturgis's.
Just prior to the departure from Virginia, Gen. Sturgis was relieved, and Gen. Robert B. Potter was assigned to the command of the 2nd Division. The IX Corps was stationed in Kentucky for 2 months, during which it served as an army of occupation, its pleasant quarters and light duty making it the most enjoyable period within its experience.
In June, it was ordered to the support of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who was then besieging Vicksburg, and proceeding there promptly, it participated in the investment of that place, although not under fire. Upon the surrender of Vicksburg, Parke's 2 divisions joined the main army in its movement on Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and became engaged in the fighting there, with a loss of 34 killed, 229 wounded, and 28 missing; total, 291. The 1st Division was then under command of Gen. Thomas Welsh, Gen. Willcox having been assigned to duty in Indiana. Although the Vicksburg campaign had not cost the corps the bloody tribute exacted in previous campaigns, still it was no less destructive of life, as disease made fearful inroads in the ranks. Among those who succumbed to the deadly malaria of the Vicksburg camps, was Gen. Welsh, who, soon after, went home to die.
The corps left Mississippi in August, 1863, and returned to Kentucky, where, after a short rest, it joined in Burnside's advance into East Tennessee, a movement which had already been commenced. The 2 divisions were now reduced to about 6,000 men. Parke having been made chief of staff of the Army of the Ohio, Gen. Robert B. Potter succeeded to the command of the corps, with Gens. Hartranft and Ferrero in command of the 2 divisions.
Ferrero's Division had a sharp little fight at Blue Springs, Tennessee, October 10, 1863, and the whole corps was engaged, November 16th, at Campbell's Station. This was followed by the occupation of Knoxville and the gallant defence against Longstreet's forces, terminating, December 5th, in the defeat and withdrawal of the enemy. The campaign in East Tennessee was a memorable one by reason of the Siege of Knoxville, and the unparalleled privations endured by the men. Willcox resumed command of the corps on January 17, 1864, relieving Potter; on the 26th, Parke relieved Willcox, who then took command of the 2nd Division.
Burnside was again assigned to duty as commander of his old corps, which was ordered to repair to Annapolis, Maryland, for reorganization. In April, the corps was assembled there, and was composed of the 4 divisions of Stevenson, Potter, Willcox, and Ferrero, the latter division being composed wholly of colored troops. The corps numbered 19,331, present for duty, with 42 pieces of field artillery; but this number was soon increased, the return of May 10th showing a strength of 32,708. In addition to the four divisions, with their two batteries each, there was a brigade of reserve artillery of 6 batteries, and, also, a provisional brigade of heavy artillerymen and dismounted cavalry. In all, there were 42 regiments of foot, and 14 batteries of light artillery. Ferrero's Colored Division had never been under fire, while many of the white regiments in the corps were newly organized, or had served previously on garrison duty only. In the ranks of the old regiments were many recruits and conscripts.
In the battle of the Wilderness the corps lost 240 killed, 1,232 wounded, 168 missing; total, 1,640; and, at Spotsylvania, 486 killed, 2,119 wounded, 469 missing; total, 3,146; the heaviest loss at Spotsylvania occurring in the action of May 12th. Stevenson was killed at Spotsylvania, May 10th, and Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden, formerly commander of the XXICorps, was assigned to the command of Stevenson's (1st) Division. During the Wilderness campaign, prior to the battle of the North Anna, the IX Corps was not included in the Army of the Potomac, but was a separate, independent command, reporting directly to Grant. This proved to be a faulty arrangement, and, so, Burnside, with Parke, his chief-of-staff, waived the question of their superiority of rank over Gen. George Meade, in order that the corps might serve under that officer in the Army of the Potomac. At Burnside's suggestion, an order was issued by Grant, on May 25th, incorporating the IX Corps with the main Army.
On the 9th of June, while at Cold Harbor, Gen. Crittenden was relieved at his own request, and Gen. Ledlie was placed in command of the 1st Division. In the first assault on Petersburg, June 17th, the corps made a brilliant attack, Potter's Division gaining possession of the works; unfortunately, the division was obliged to relinquish its foothold for want of proper support. The corps was engaged in a similar attempt on the following day, the losses in Potter's and Willcox's Divisions being unusually severe in proportion to the number engaged. Loss, 497 killed, 3,232 wounded, and 262 missing; total, 2,991.
The Confederate's works proving too strong for assault, the army intrenched itself preparatory to the 10 months siege which followed. On June 19th, Ferrero's (4th) Division of colored troops rejoined the corps, having been absent during the whole of the previous campaign, engaged on duty at the rear. Ferrero's men were now placed in the trenches with the other 3 divisions. The part of the line occupied by the IX Corps was very near the Confederate's works, and an incessant firing was kept up during the siege, resulting in a daily loss of men, killed or wounded. While there was a comparative quiet in front of the other corps positions, the men of the IX were subjected to the terrible strain of a constant watchfulness and deadly exposure. The Confederates seemed to be excited to an undue activity by the presence of Ferrero's Colored Division.
The IX Corps was prominently connected with the siege, by reason of the immense mine which was dug from within and in front of its line. This mine, which was excavated by the 48th Pennsylvania, of Potter's Division, was successfully exploded, but the assault which followed was a failure. During this assault Ferrero's colored regiments went into action and fought well, acquitting themselves creditably; their failure, like that of the white regiments in this affair, resulted from causes outside of the regiments themselves. The loss in the IX Corps at the mine, was 473 killed, 1,646 wounded, 1,356 missing; total, 3,475. Immediately after this engagement, General Ledlie was relieved from command of the 1st Division, and Gen. Julius White, of the XXIII Corps, was assigned to Ledlie's place.
On the 13th of August, 1864, Burnside was granted a leave of absence; he never rejoined the corps, but was succeeded by Parke, who remained in command until the close of the war. At the battle of the Weldon Railroad, August 19 - 21, 1864, the 3 divisions of White, Potter, and Willcox were engaged with considerable loss, although the 3 combined numbered less than 6,000 muskets; casualties, 60 killed, 315 wounded, and els missing. By this time the divisions had become so reduced in numbers that a reorganization of the corps became necessary, and so the regiments in White's Division were transferred to the divisions of Potter and Willcox.
Under this arrangement Willcox's Division was numbered as the First; Potter's, as the 2nd Division; Ferrero's colored troops were designated as the 3rd Division. But, in December, Ferrero's Division was permanently detached, and most of his regiments were transferred to the newly-organized XXV Corps, which was composed entirely of colored troops. Ferrero, himself, was assigned to a provisional command at Bermuda Hundred.
The vacancy caused by detaching Ferrero's Division was filled by 6 new regiments of Pennsylvanians--1-year men--organized into a division of 2 brigades, the command of which was given to Gen. John F. Hartranft. This division rendered gallant service at Fort Stedman, and Hartranft added to his laurels by the ability displayed at that critical juncture.
The morning report for March 31, 1865, showed a corps strength of 18,153, "present for duty, equipped," and 36 pieces of light artillery. With this force the Ninth Corps entered upon the final campaign, taking a prominent part in the storming of Petersburg, April 2, 1865, which resulted in the evacuation of Richmond and the downfall of the Confederacy. The corps was not only among the foremost in this brilliant assault, but its flags were the first to wave over the public buildings of Petersburg. This was the last battle in which the corps participated, and on July 27, 1865, the existence of the IX Corps was officially terminated.
Major Battles Fought In
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