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The army of the Potomac

            The army of the Potomac was the most important union army in the eastern theatre.It originated in the army of the northern Virginia. The army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was no larger than a corp. But then it grew and became the largest army in the civil war. It was disbanded after 1865 or after the civil war. The main purpose of the Potomac army was to capture the Richmond and to defend the capital Washington D.C. In order to protect the capital and to capture Richmond the Potomac army fought many battles such as Battle of Gettysburg, and the seven days battle. The army of the Potomac used many weapons, such as heavy artillery, novel Ager guns, coffee mill and 103 siege guns that were used at the siege of Yorktown. The army of the Potomac also used spying technology, such as a hot balloon they used it to observe the enemies defense at the siege of Yorktown. The army of the Potomac had several commanders. General Irvin McDowell was the first general of the army of the Potomac. He was replaced by General George b McClellan after the first battle of Bull Run which was a confederate victory. General George B. McClellan took in charge of the army of the Potomac on July-27-1861. He enforced order and trained the army variously. By the end of October he had a well trained, and a well equipped army. On November, 7, 1862 he was relieved as the commander of the army of the Potomac, because of his slow movements. General George B. McClellan was replaced by General Ambrose E. Burnside. Burnside was relieved of his command after losing at Fredericksburg. General Joseph hooker replaced him as the commander of Potomac army. Hooker resigned on June, 28, 1863 because hooker was not comfortable with his commander General Halleck. General George Meade replaced hooker as the commander of the Potomac army. General George Meade stayed as the commander of the army for the rest of the war.


Essays Related to The army of the Potomac

1. A Short History of the Civil War

... . In late November Burnside marched the 120,000 man army to Fredericksburg, trying to quickly cross the Rappahannock river and get behind Lee. By the time he crossed Lee was entrenched and easily deflected the brave but vain charges. The battle of Fredericksburg cost the union 12,000 men and shattered the morale of the army of the Potomac. The war outside of Virginia had also taken a radical nature. After the initail northern victories the war turned to stalemate ... . Halleck left to oversee the war in Washington D.C. but his caution allowed the Confedrates to form a 35,000 man army to d...

  • Word Count: 4140
  • Approx Pages: 17
  • Grade Level: High School

2. An American Turning Point - The Battle of Gettysburg

... one more massive attack. After two days of attack and counter attack, Lee wanted to launch one more offensive attack that would decide the Battle of Gettysburg. His plan was to send in his last 12,000 fresh soldiers, lead by Major General George Pickett, to attack the center of the Union's fishhook defensive line. He wanted to cut the army of Potomac into two pieces which would allow them ... to take the Baltimore Pike and attack the Union army from all sides. To weaken the Union lines, Lee sent one hundred and fifty Confederate cannons into position which ended up being ... a two mile...

  • Word Count: 3169
  • Approx Pages: 13
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Emancipation Proclamaiton

... gruesome wars in American History. On September 17th, the battle of Antietam arose leaving a mass number of 23,100 casualties. The Union Army of the Potomac was led by Major General George B. McClellan, while the Confederate commander of the Army of Northern Virginia was General Robert E. Lee. The battle took place during the Maryland Campaign and was the first time in the Civil War that the opposing forces had met in Union territory. A day later, On September 18 ... , a truce was declared to allow recovery of dead and wounded soldiers ... ...

  • Word Count: 1740
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The American Civil War

... Campaign to take Shreveport, Louisiana was a failure and Texas remained in Confederate hands throughout the war. End of war Conquest of Virginia At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln made Grant commander of all Union armies. Grant made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, and put Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies. Grant understood the concept of total war and believed, along with Lincoln and Sherman, that only ... the utter defeat of Confederate forces and their economic base would end the war. Grant devised a coordinated strategy ... ...

  • Word Count: 7511
  • Approx Pages: 30
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Fluidity of the American Civil War

... Campaign to take Shreveport, Louisiana was a failure and Texas remained in Confederate hands throughout the war. End of war Conquest of Virginia At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln made Grant commander of all Union armies. Grant made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, and put Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies. Grant understood the concept of total war and believed, along with Lincoln and Sherman, that only ... the utter defeat of Confederate forces and their economic base would end the war. Grant devised a coordinated strategy ... ...

  • Word Count: 6922
  • Approx Pages: 28
  • Has Bibliography

6. Gettysburg: the movie

... -date on events of the time. We hear that in June 1863, the Southern Confederate (Rebel) Army, 70,000 strong, under the leadership of General Robert Edward Lee, has slipped across the Potomac River to commence the invasion of the north. They have used the mountains for screening and their objective is to bring the Northern Union Army out into the open, prompting a battle. Meanwhile, the Union (Federal) Army, 80,000 strong, under the leadership of Major General George ... Gordon Meade is in pursuit, coming out of Maryland, and ... ...

  • Word Count: 4463
  • Approx Pages: 18
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Leading Men of the Battle at Gettysburg

... Lincoln sending troops to help protect them, but on April 12, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, the Civil War began with shots fired. Thereafter, several battles were fought where great generals like the likes of Lee, Jackson, Longstreet, A.P. Hill, Pickett, Custer and Meade demonstrated great valor and mastery, until the Union Army of the Potomac intercepted General Robert E. Lee's men at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1, 1863. Prior to ... the Gettysburg campaign, the forces had battled at Chancellorsville, Virginia. By this time, President Lincoln had begun to educate ... ...

  • Word Count: 1983
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

8. The Battle of Antietam

... General George McClellan. The Confederate army retreated after less than one day of fighting, and the battle was considered a Union victory. However, Antietam changed the course of the Civil War while taking 23,000 casualties, including almost 14,000 Union soldiers (Antietam, Battle of). The Battle of Antietam was the result of Confederate General Lee's first invasion of the North. After a victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run, ... (Civil War, American) In addition, he hoped that a successful invasion might force European nations to recognize the Confederacy. He moved from Virginia a...

  • Word Count: 682
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Killer Angels

... Angels tells the amazing story of the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 1, 1863, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac fought the largest battle of the American Civil War. The battle left 51,000 men dead, wounded, or missing. The characters first introduced include General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate army; General James Longstreet, Lee's second-in-command; Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and Major General George Meade, commanding general of the Union Army. On June ... 30, 1863 a spy comes to General Longstreet to inform him th...

  • Word Count: 930
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

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