In September of 1862 the American Civil War was entering a new phase. The Union offensives which had accomplished so much the previous winter and spring had finally run their course and ground to a halt during the summer. In August, the strategic initiative passed over to the Confederates, both in Virginia and in the West. Now, in September, Confederate counter-offensives were underway in both theaters. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia entered Maryland, and captured a large Union force at Harpers Ferry, but was forced, by the Battle of Antietam, to withdraw from Maryland and return to the defensive.

Lee's forces during the Maryland campaign consisted of Stuart's Cavalry Division, the Artillery Reserve under Pendleton, and nine divisions and one independent brigade of infantry divided into two "Wings" (Confederate law did not then allow the formation of Corps).

"Stonewall" Jackson commanded the Left Wing and Longstreet the Right Wing. Lee's authority also extended over the Defenses of Richmond, commanded by Major General Gustavus W. Smith, even after this was extended, on 19 September, to include North Carolina and was designated the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.

In the West

In the West the principle command was known officially as Department Number Two, and unofficially as the Western Department. This was commanded by Major General Braxton Bragg, who had taken most of his troops clear out of his department to Chattanooga. Here he joined forces with E. Kirby Smith, Commander of the Department of East Tennessee, for a counteroffensive into Tennessee and Kentucky. Bragg's field force went by the name, "Army of Mississippi." The latter was divided into the Right Wing, under Polk, and the Left Wing, under Hardee.

Left behind to guard Mississippi, in Bragg's absence, were Van Dorn, commandinq the District of the Mississippi guarding the river, and Sterling Price, commanding the Army of the West guarding northern Mississippi aqainst Grant's forces in southwest Tennessee.

On 19 Sept. '62 Price, trying to slip past Grant, was attacked by Union forces at Iuka, Miss. luckily avoiding a trap.

On that same day, G.W. Smith's command around Richmond was formalized as the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, with jurisdiction over D.H. Hill's Dept. of North Carolina. On the 24th Beauregard came off the sick list to replace Pemberton in command of the Dept. of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and on the 28th Pemberton was appointed commander of a resurrected Dept. of Mississippi and East Louisiana with authority over Price and Van Dorn. These two attacked Rosecrans at Corinth, Miss., on 3 & 4 Oct. '62 but were driven off, again escaping a trap set by Grant.

After wandering rather aimlessly around Kentucky for about a month, Bragg finally blundered into Buell's army on 8 Oct. at Perryville. After a bloody but indecisive fight he finally decided to fall back into Tennessee.

From 11 to 13 Oct '62 seven officers were appointed to the new grade of Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army. In order of seniority they were Longstreet, Kirby Smith, Polk, Hardee, Jackson, Holmes and Pemberton. This grade came between the previously existing grades of Major General and General and was the appropriate rank for the commander of an army corps - a form of organization officially recognized in Confederate law on 18 Sept. '62. Only four of these existed at first.

On 6 Nov. Longstreets' and Jackson's "Wings" became the First and Second Corps, respectively, of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. And on 7 Nov. Polk's and Hardee's "Wings" become the First and Second Corps, respectively, of Bragg's Army of Mississippi.

On 16 Oct. Loring was succeeded in command of the Army and Dept. of Southwest Virginia by Echols. The Dept. of East Tennessee was merged with Bragg's Dept. at the end of the month, though Kirby Smith still commanded his Army of Kentucky.

On 10 November J.S. Williams succeeded Echols in Command of the Army and Dept. of Southwest Virginia, and he was succeeded on the 25th by Samuel Jones, under whom it became known as the Trans-Allegheny or Western Department of Virginia. Meanwhile on the 17th of Nov. Whiting succeeded D.H. Hill in command of the Dept. of North Carolina. On the 20th Kirby Smith's Army of Kentucky was merged with Bragg's Army of Mississippi to form the Army of Tennessee under Bragg. And on the 24th J.E. Johnston, recovered from his wound, was appointed to command the "Department of the West" with the responsibility of coordinating the forces of Bragg and Pemberton, which continued unchanged.

On the 7th of December 1862, Pemberton adopted the name Army of Mississippi (recently dropped by Bragg) for his field force, and divided it into the First Corps, under Van Dorn, and the Second Corps, under Price. These Corps were soon down-graded to the status of divisions, however. On the twelvth the Defenses of Richmond were placed under Arnold Elzey but subordinate to G.W. Smith's Dept. of North Carolina & Southern Virginia (which in turn was subject to the orders of R.E. Lee).

In the District of the Gulf (still part of Bragg's Dept. No. 2) Forney was succeeded on the 14th by Marshall, who in turn was followed on the 23rd by Buckner. And that same day Kirby Smith resumed command of his Dept. of East Tennessee. And on the 29th, what with Jackson now officially a Corps commander, command of the Valley District of the Dept. of N. Va. was assigned to W.E. "Grumble" Jones, whose cavalry brigade constituted the main defense of that area. Naturally this unit, known as the Laurel Brigade and composed mostly of units that had fought in the Vally under Jackson, was detached from Stuart's Cavalry Division since Jones was now responsible directly to Lee.

On the Defensive

The Confederate offensives of the fall had run their course, their forces returning to their approximate starting places and to the defensive. Lee was attacked at Fredericksburg 11-13 Dec. , Pemberton at Chickasaw Bayou 27-29 Dec., and Bragg at Murfreesborough, 30 Dec.-3 Jan.

Things then settled down pretty much, waiting for better weather. The only significant change in January was that Kirby Smith left the Dept. of East Tennessee on the 14th to take command of the Trans-Mississippi Dept. from Holmes, which he did one month later. He remained in this command throughout the rest of the war, and as that area became cut off, after the fall of Vicksburg, from the rest of the Confederacy, it came to be known as "Kirby-Smithdom." He was temporarily succeeded in East Tenn. by Heth, but Donelson took over on the 17th. However most of the forces Smith had commanded left the Dept. of East Tenn., Steveson's Division going to reinforce Pemberton, and McCown's to Bragg.

In Virginia a growing concern about the area South of James River was first reflected by the dispatch of Ransom's (formerly Walker's) little division of two brigades from Longstreet's Corps to North Carolina in early January. Meanwhile, G.W. Smith had been complaining about not being promoted to Lieutenant General though most who were had been junior to him as Major Generals. He submitted the resignation of his commission and this was accepted on 17 February. The very next day Longstreet was ordered to take Pickett's and Hood's Divisions (leaving McLaw's and R.H. Anderson's Divisions with Lee), to Richmond and report to the Secretary of War. On 25 Feb. he was formally appointed to command of the Dept. of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, which had been temporaily under S.G. French since G.W. Smith's resignation. This command, like Johnston's Dept. of the West, was really more than a department, since other departments were subordinated to it. It corresponded to a Union "Military Division" (such as Sherman's command in 1864). Lonnstreet's command included the Department of Richmond, under Elzey, Department of Southern Virginia, under French, and he Department of North Carolina, where D.H. Hill superseded Whiting the same day that Longstreet took command.

Joe Johnston was not happy with his own command. He felt there was no real way for Bragg's and Pemberton's forces to help each other, since they were too far apart and the Union forces effectively between the two. Also he would have prefered direct command of a field army to a job he viewed as purely administrative. The only forces directly at his command was a force of cavalry he had assembled in Northern Mississippi under Van Dorn from both Pemberton's and Bragg's forces, as well as from Buckner's Gulf District.

However, as partial compensations for Bragn's losses at Murfreesborough this force was transferred to his command where Van Dorn reported for duty on 22 Feb. And on 16 March this division was redesignated the First Cavalry Corps, and Wheeler's Division as the Second Cavalry Corps, of the Army of Tennessee.

In April Donelson was replaced in command of the Dept. of East Tennessee by Maury on the 25th, but Maury and Buckner, commander of the District of the Gulf, promptly switched places, Buckner assuming his new command on 12 May. On the 8th of May Van Dorn was killed in a private matter and replaced at first by W. H. Jackson, but later by N.B. Forrest. Also in early May "Grumble" Jones was replaced in command of the Valley District by Isaac Trimble, one of Jackson's former brigade commanders. And it was, of course on 2 May that the wounding of Jackson removed him from command of the Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. He was temporarily replaced by J.E.B. Stuart, of the cavalry, until 6 May, when Jackson's senior division commander, A.P. Hill took over. Jackson's wound was due to the Battle of Chancellorsville, of course, and the same caused the return of Longstreet with Hood's and Pickett's divisions.

This led to some changes south of the James. On 9 May Longstreet turned over command of the Dept. of N.C. & So. Va. to D.H. Hill, and on the 27th Ranson succeeded French in command of the Dept. of So. Va., under Hill.. The latter continued in command in North Carolina himself.

Lee's Army Re-organized

Jackson's wound proved mortal and the necessity of replacing him permanently led to a complete reorganization of Lee's Army.

Longstreet continued in command of the First Corps, now returned from southside Virginia. Ewell, long associated with Jackson's forces and just recovering from a wound, was promoted on 23 May Lieutenant General and took over the Second Corps. And A.P. Hill was also promoted to Lt. General (24 May) and assigned a new Third Corps, composed of Anderson's Division, from the First Corps, Hill's own division, from the Second Corps, and a third division formed from two brioades from Hill's division and two brigades brought up from the Dept. of North Carolina. Each corps was assigned a reserve of two artillery battalions in addition to one attached to each division.

Stuart continued in command on the Cavalry Division, now reinforced to six brigades (plus a battalion of horse artillery) by the return of "Grumble" Jones from the Valley, and the addition of Robertson's Brigade from North Carolina, and A.G. Jenkins from the Dept. of Southwest Virginia. Another brigade, of cavalry and mounted infantry, under John D. Imboden, returning from a raid in West Virginia, was responsible directly to Lee. This was the organization of the Army of Northern Virginia through the Gettysburg campaign and beyond.

When Vicksburg surrendered on 4 July Pemberton and most of his forces were captured, and on the 13th most of the rest surrendered at Port Hudson. This virtually wiped out the Dept. of Miss. and East Louisiana. J.E. Johnson had by then accumulated a force of four infantry and one cavalry divisions in Mississippi which came under his direct command as commander of the Dept. of the West. On 11 July D.H. Hill was promoted to Lt. Gen. with the idea of sending him to Mississippi. He was succeeded in command of the Dept. of North Carolina ("So. Va." being dropped at this time) by Whiting on 14 July. It was, however, decided to send Hardee to Mississippi instead, and Hill replaced him in command of the Second Corps, Army of Tennessee, on the 19th. On the 21st, Imboden was appointed to command the Valley District, under Lee, since Trimble had followed the Army to Gettysburg, temporarily took over Pender's Division, was wounded and captured.

On the 25th at Buckner's suggestion, his Dept. of East Tennessee was merged with Bragg's Dept. #2, the whole to be commanded by the latter. The new organization was designated the Department of Tennessee. Buckner's forces became the Third Corps of the Army of Tennessee, but Buckner was to retain administrative responsibility for eastern Tennessee, reporting directly to Richmond. A typical Confederate muddling of responsibilities and organizations.

The only significant change in August was the appointment of S.D. Lee -- captured at Vicksburg and recently exchanged -- to command a corps consisting of all the cavalry in Mississippi. On 3 Sept. Stuart's Cavalry Division of Lee's Army was divided into 2 divisions, under Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee, with Stuart commanding the corps thus was created. September also brought a vast reshuffling of forces to provide reinforcements which would hopefully allow Bragg to defeat Rosecrans and undertake an offensive in Tennessee. From Mississippi Johnston sent the divisions of Breckinridge and W.H.T. Walker, and later the brigades of Gregg and McNair. Breckinridge went to Hill's Second Corps and a new, "Reserve," Corps was formed, under Walker (though he was only a Major General) consisting of his own (under Gist) and Liddell's divisions.

Then a "Reserve Division" was put under Bushrod Johnson reporting directly to Bragg. Longstreet's First Corps was sent from Lee's army, with Pickett's division being dropped off at Richmond, while Wise's Brigade was sent from that area to reinforce Charleston, along with G.T. Anderson's Brigade of Hood's Division - which was replaced by Jenkin's Brigade from Richmond - leaving Hood's and McLaws' Divisions for the trip to Tennessee. Hood's Division arrived in time for the first day of the Battle of Chickamauga, 19 September 1863, so Bragg continued his penchant for forming new corps by combining this force with Bushrod Johnson's Reserve Division to form "Hood's Corps."

When Longstreet, with McLaWs' division, arrived the next day, Bragg divided his force in half, giving Longstreet the Left Wing, consisting of his own troops from Virginia under Hood, Buckner's Corps (now including Johnson's Division) and Hindman's Division from Polk's Corps. Polk commanded the Riqht Wing, with his other division, Cheatham's, plus D.H. Hill' Corps and Walker's Corps. After Chickamauga, Bragg relieved Polk for disobeying orders. And he was replaced by Hardee, D.H. Hill was also removed and President Davis refused to send his promotion to Lt. Gen. for confirmation by the Senate.

On 23 Sept. Pickett superceded Whiting as commander of the Dept. of North Carolina. Bragg reorganized the Army of Tennessee on 23 Oct. into three corps under Hardee, Breckinridge (only a Major General) and Longstreet, plus Wheeler's cavalry corps. Hardee's new corps contained Stevenson's Division, from Mississippi, which the U.S. Government considered to be in violation of their paroles and not properly exchanged since captured at Vicksburg. When Longstreet was sent to attempt to retake Knoxville, in November, he became commander of the Dept. of East Tennessee (still under Bragg's Dept. of Tennessee).

Bragg was relieved of command of the Army of Tennessee on 2 December after being defeated by Grant at Chattanooga. Hardee succeeded him temporarily. On the 15th Imboden was superceded as commander of the Valley District of the Department of Northern Virginia by Early. And on the 22rd Polk was assigned to command a resurrected Dept. of Miss. and E. La. (Pemberton's old command), simultaneously assuming temporary command of the Army of Tennessee. Finally, on the 27th J.E. Johnston took command of the Department and Army of Tennessee, and his former command, the Dept. of the West, ceased to exist.

On the 1st of February, Hood was promoted to Lt. Gen. (to rank from 20 Sept.), and he succeeded Breckinridge in Command of the Second Corps of the Army of Tennessee. Breckinridge succeeded Samuel Jones in Command of the Western Department of Virginia on 5 March. This brings us up to the next major phase of the war, the campaigns of 1864, which will be covered next - first the Union side and then the Confederate.

Organizational Tables Sept 1862 - Sept 1863 (very slow: 247K)

More ACW Armies

American Civil War Part V: Confederate Departments and Armies: Manassas to Sharpsburg
American Civil War Part VII: Confederate Departments and Armies: Iuka to Meridian
American Civil War Part VIII: Union Departments, Armies, and Corps 1864-1865
American Civil War Part IX: Confederate Departments and Armies: Red River to Appomattox