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XVI Corps Civil War Facts
| Organized December 18, 1862, with Maj. Gen. S. A. Hurlbut in command, and was composed of the 4 divisions of Gens. W. S. Smith, Dodge, Kimball, and Lauman. It numbered 50,659, present for duty in April, 1863, with 72,569 present and absent. These troops were stationed in the vicinity of Memphis, La Grange, and Corinth until June, 1863, when the divisions of Smith, Kimball, and Lauman were ordered to Vicksburg in response to Grant's call for re-inforcements, and participated in the investment of that place. This | XVI Corps Flag  |
It would be impossible to give anything like a connected history of the XVI Corps from this time on, so many were the changes in its ranks, and so widely were its divisions scattered. The XVI Corps suffered more than any other corps by transfers of its divisions,--changes which prevented anything like a continuous organization, and well nigh destroyed its identity.
Part of the corps served on the Atlanta Campaign, while the other part was fighting in the Mississippi Valley. It was ordered discontinued in November, 1864, but was re-established within a few weeks. An organization would be perfected one month, only to be broken up the next. The War Department evinced no conception of what was due to corps organization or corps pride, and the unfortunate brigades and divisions were transferred hither and thither, with as little consideration as if they were squads from some recruiting rendezvous instead of battle-tried divisions.
The 3 divisions at Vicksburg were not engaged in any active fighting while there, having arrived after the seige was well under way. Lauman's and Smith's divisions, however, fought at the Siege of Jackson, July 10-16, the former division being attached temporarily to the XIII Corps, and the latter, to the IX Corps. Smith's Division lost at Jackson 12 killed, 124 wounded, and 13 missing; total, 149. Lauman's Division lost 68 killed, 338 wounded, and 149 missing; total, 555. Nearly all of Lauman's loss occurred in an ill-advised attack made by 3 regiments of Pugh's Brigade, for which Lauman was relieved from command. Many of Lauman's officers, however, have stoutly contended that he was not to blame. The Confederates having evacuated Jackson, the Army returned to Vicksburg, where the troops remained for several weeks. In September, W. S. Smith's Division was transferred to the XV Corps, and Lauman's Division was transferred to the XVII Corps. In return, when the XV Corps moved to Chattanooga, Tuttle's Division of that corps was left at Vicksburg and assigned to the XVI Corps. This latter division was commanded, subsequently by Gen. Joseph A. Mower.
Dodge's Division did not take part in the Vicksburg Campaign, but remained at Corinth until November, when it moved with Sherman to the relief of Chattanooga, marching from Corinth to Pulaski, Tennessee, where it was left to guard the Nashville & Decatur R. R., while Sherman with the XV Corps moved on to Chattanooga. Two divisions, the 2nd and 4th, commanded respectively by Gens. Sweeny and Veatch, participated in the Atlanta campaign, May 1 to September 4, 1864. These 2 divisions, or the XVI Corps as it was designated, were under the command of Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, and formed 1 of the 3 corps constituting the Army of the Tennessee. During the Atlanta campaign, Gen. Veatch was succeeded in the command of his division by Gen. John W. Fuller.
Gen. Dodge's command was prominently engaged at Lay's Ferry, and in the bloody battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. After the fall of Atlanta his 2 divisions were transferred, Sweeny's (or Corse's) to the XV, and Fuller's to the XVII Corps.
In the meantime the right wing of the XVI Corps, as it was called, had been left in the Mississippi Valley; it was composed of the 1st (Mower's) and 2nd (A. J. Smith's) Divisions, the former being the one which was transferred, in September, 1863, from the XV Corps. The greater part of Kimball's Division had been ordered into Arkansas, where it became incorporated in the VII Corps. In February, 1864, A. J. Smith's and Veatch's Divisions accompanied Sherman on his Meridian expedition. In April, Mower's and A. J. Smith's Divisions moved with Banks' expedition up the Red River, fighting at the battle of Pleasant Hill and in the various minor engagements incidental to that campaign. These 2 divisions had been "loaned" to Gen. Banks by Sherman, with an understanding that they should soon return; but the disasters of Banks' campaign prolonged their stay until it was too late to rejoin the corps in time for the Atlanta campaign. Hence, the divided operations of the XVI Corps in 1864; the 1st and 3rd Divisions, under Gen. A. J. Smith, fighting along the Mississippi, while the 2nd and 4th Divisions, under Dodge, fought from Chattanooga to Atlanta.
On November 7, 1864, orders were issued for the discontinuance of the organization; but in December, 1864, Gen. A. J. Smith and his 2 divisions turned up at the defense of Nashville, and participated in the victory over Maj. Gen. John B. Hood's Army; casualties, 750. In this battle Smith's 2 divisions were commanded by Gens. McArthur and Kenner Garrard. His command was designated as a "Detachment, Army of the Tennessee," although it was still known as the XVI Corps.
It was reorganized Feb. 18, 1865, under its old designation and with Maj. Gen. A. J. Smith in command. As reorganized, it had 3 divisions which were commanded by Gens. McArthur, Garrard and E. A. Carr. Proceeding to Mobile, Alabama, it was engaged in the siege, and in the fighting at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, the latter being the last infantry engagement of the war. Fort Blakely was carried by assault, April 9, 1865, the day on which Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia. The corps organization was finally discontinued July 20, 1865.
The men of the XVI Corps had for the most part seen plenty of service before the organization of the corps. They had fought well at Iuka, Corinth and Hatchie River, and many of the regiments had been engaged at Fort Donelson and Shiloh.
Major Battles Fought In
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