union army was north or south

With these authorizations came a small increase in the size of the clerical staff assisting the JAG. [21][22], Since before the Civil War, the American public had a generally negative view of the nation's armed forces, attributable to a Jeffersonian ideal which saw standing armies as a threat to democracy and instead valorized the "citizen soldier" as being more in keeping with American ideals of equality and rugged individualism. Over the next four years, the Union army occupied large sections of the Confederacy . [123] New York, Philadelphia, and Washington were the primary depots supporting Union armies in the eastern theater, with Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville the primary support depots in the western theater. [98][99] Corps personnel acted as combat engineers during battle, helping to construct pontoon bridges, repair roads and bridges, dig trenches, and conduct reconnaissance. Abraham Lincoln was their President. Civil War | Article Who Fought? Furthermore, even when units were of equivalent size, their actual effectiveness depended greatly on training, leadership, equipment and other factors. p. 36, Kautz, A. V. (1866). It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic. [1] Northern policy initially encouraged southern Unionism which Lincoln and others believed to prevail among the majority of the southern population. [96], During the war the JAG and his subordinates were able to satisfactorily handle the increased volume and complexity of legal matters that came with the exponential growth of the Army. It also exploited emerging technologies like railroads and steamboats with expertise to support the Union Army like never before at a strategic and operational level. Since desertion is defined as being AWOL for 30 or more days and some soldiers returned within that time period, as well as some deserters being labeled missing-in-action or vice versa, accurate counts are difficult to determine. During the early years of the Civil War the Signal Corps did not have any personnel other than Myer appointed to it. However, the PMGB did not live up to expectations under Draper's leadership. This puts the total number of desertions from the Union Army during the four years of the war at nearly 350,000. [13] The Signal Corps was created and deployed for the first time, through the leadership of Albert J. Myer. The secession of the Southern states (in chronological order, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and . By September 1863, the Southern railroads were in bad shape. Artillery brigades consisted of between four and six batteries. The mob set fire to African American churches and the Colored Orphan Asylum as well as the homes of prominent Protestant abolitionists. [109], Some challenges remained however, against which only small progress was made. The recruitment of new white Volunteers and draftees, and the suppression and punishment of absenteeism and desertion, was given to the newly formed Provost Marshal General's Bureau in May 1863, while the position of Commissioner for the Exchange of Prisoners was created to take over this function from the AGD. Unidentified Union volunteer with shouldered rifle and bayonet, ca. Eventually in March 1865 Congress formally recognized wartime requirements by authorizing a chief CS with the rank of colonel for each field army, military department and division, and principle subsistence depot; an assistant CS with the rank of colonel assigned to Washington; up to six CS with the rank of lieutenant colonel to serve as inspectors or special duty assignment; a chief CS with the rank of lieutenant colonel for each army corps; and a CS with the rank of major for each division. African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War. [136], Desertion was a major problem for both sides. [135], Union cavalry were rarely used in actual battle in the first years of the war, instead being parceled out on scouting and raiding missions and often at a disadvantage against their Confederate counterparts. Congress eventually determined that each geographical department, army, corps, division and brigade would also be assigned an IG or assistant IG, however these positions were to be filled by Regular or Volunteer officers detailed from line units of the Army or from the other staff departments. Despite these issues it was able to successfully meet the challenges of the war overall, particularly with bringing under control the waste, fraud and abuse which had been rampant at the start of the conflict. For brigades and higher echelons of command, an ordnance officer was authorized to serve on the unit's staff with similar responsibilities. Others, of lesser competence, included Benjamin F. Butler. He left two corps behind the inner ring and ordered an infantry and cavalry corps numbering 17,000-18,000 soldiers to separately advance south and east in the general direction of Sherman's left flank. 880,000 Number of Southerners . Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South As early as September 1861, the CSA began issuing national currency, promising to pay the bearer the face amount six months after the ratification of a peace treaty. The poor formed clubs that would buy exemptions for their unlucky members. [6] Hattaway and Jones (1983), John and David Eicher (2001), and Jennifer M. Murray (2012), state that 99 joined the Confederate Army and 114 returned to the Union forces.[7][8][9]. These include the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, the first Black regiment to be raised and the first to engage in combat; the 1st Louisiana Native Guard, raised from both freedmen and escaped slaves after the Capture of New Orleans; and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, which became the most famous Black unit after their valiant participation in the Battle of Fort Wagner. Each field army headquarters established their own topographical departments under the supervision of engineer officers, which would provide the army with maps necessary for a given campaign. 7 million Number of Americans lost if 2.5% of the population died in war today. Sergeants in particular were vital in this role as general guides and their selection ideally reserved for the most distinguished soldiers. 1860-1865 Library of Congress The tragedy of the Civil War is summed up in the phrase "brother against brother." Northern soldiers and Southern soldiers were very much alikefrom their backgrounds, to their education, to their courage and loyalty. Major General Oliver Otis Howard was appointed to head the bureau at its creation and lead it throughout its lifetime. A sadistic murderer to some, a war hero to others, Champ Ferguson in custody, surrounded by Union troops. [105], The inspectorate faced many challenges during the Civil War, including hostility and lack of cooperation from some commanders and the mixed performance of some IGs in the field. p. 378380, Kautz, A. V. (1864). However unlike with the other supply departments, the ordnance department did not commission any Volunteer officers to this role, instead relying on ORRD officers or (at division level and below) relying on Regular officers filling the role as acting ordnance officers or combining the role with the assigned quartermaster. Few of the 100 railroads that existed in the South prior to 1861 were more than 100 miles in length. 26, 2023, 5:16 AM ET (AP) Thousands of North Koreans march in anti-US rallies as country marks Korean War anniversary By November 1864 the PMGB (not counting the Invalid Corps) included 4,716 officers and employees. Clayton R. Newell (2014) states, 92 wore Confederate gray and 102 put on the blue of the United States Army. [3] The United States saw its heaviest rate of immigration during the 1850s and the vast majority of these people moved to the Northern states. A substantial number of these employees were women and children, partly because they could be paid less than adult male workers, their small hands were thought to be better suited to assembling cartridges, and women were believed to be more safety-oriented. [101] In August 1861 Congress authorized the formation of three more companies to be organized the same as Engineer Company A, with all four organized into a single battalion (the US Engineer Battalion, later 1st Engineer Battalion), and the addition of two lieutenant colonels, four majors and six lieutenants to the Corps. This still was not enough, and so in March 1863 an additional lieutenant colonel, two majors, eight captains and eight first lieutenants were added, bringing the authorized strength to sixty-four officers where it would remain for the rest of the war. [13][120], Initially consisting of a single officer, the provost marshal general (PMG) himself, eventually the bureau was authorized fourteen additional officers split between several branches. Later that year in August, Congress authorized the appointment of fifty medical cadets to be chosen from young men with a liberal education and prior medical experience. Women took on many significant roles in the Union Army and were important to its ultimate success on the battlefield. Popularly-held prejudices doubted whether Black people could be effective soldiers, and President Lincoln believed allowing their enlistment would anger Northern whites and alienate not just the South but the Border States too. Union armies typically detailed soldiers to form company-sized detachments of pioneers to repair roads or bury the dead after a battle. Nearly as many Irish immigrants arrived during the same period. Wiki User 2011-09-22 21:25:03 Study now. [14], During the course of the Civil War, the vast majority of soldiers fighting to preserve the Union were in the Volunteer units. In August 1861 Congress increased the authorized number of officers to forty-five: the Chief of Ordnance (brigadier general), two colonels, two lieutenant colonels, four majors, twelve captains, twelve first lieutenants, and twelve second lieutenants. In total, the department purchased over $361 million in foodstuff and miscellaneous subsistence items from July 1, 1861, to June 30, 1865. [97], The Corps of Engineers was a small part of the Army prior to the Civil War but played an important role not only in the conflict but for the nation as a whole. United States: Center of Military History, U.S. Army. The war proved to be longer and more extensive than anyone North or South had expected, and on July 22, 1861, Congress authorized a volunteer army of . United States: Chicago Review Press. Within days of the fall of Fort Sumter, four more states joined the Confederacy: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. If not caught and executed, this crime could pay well. When possible a flanking maneuver was preferred, but if necessary a frontal assault was conducted, with feints to draw off the enemy's attention. The Union Army was made up of the permanent regular army of the United States, but further fortified, augmented, and strengthened by the many temporary units of dedicated volunteers, as well as including those who were drafted in to service as conscripts. [17], The military organization of the United States Army was based on the traditions developed in Europe, with the regiment being the basis of recruitment, training and maneuvering. Other responsibilities assumed during the war included care for disabled veterans and their families, prisoners of war, refugees and freed slaves; maintaining medical records of the dead and wounded; and preparing a medical and surgical history of the war. The Corps also exerted an influence beyond its small size as many of the Union's most prominent officers, including McClellan and Meade, were themselves trained as engineers and used their knowledge to influence the outcome of battles. [31] The political appointment and/or election of Volunteer officers was part of a long-standing militia tradition and of a political patronage system common in the United States. During his absence, Colonel Charles Thomas served as acting QMG in Washington. ", "Desertion (Confederate) during the Civil War", Civil War Home: Ethnic groups in the Union Army, U.S. Civil War Era Uniforms and Accoutrements, Official Army register of the Volunteer Force 1861; 1862; 1863; 1864; 1865, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 18, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 912, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 1315, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 1617, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volume 18, Roll of Honor: names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volume 19, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 2021, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 2223, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in Defense of the Union Volumes 2427, Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers who died in defense of the Union Volumes XXVII, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Army&oldid=1165088175, Averaged three divisions, included a dedicated artillery brigade after 1863. OCCUPATION OF THE SOUTHThe only Americans, other than American Indians, who ever experienced extended, large-scale enemy occupation were the people of the Confederate South. Saltville Virginia, 1864. United States: ABC-CLIO. [127], The creation of a Signal Corps for the US Army was the result of Albert James Myer, an Army surgeon who had developed a system of military signals based on sign language known as wigwag. Cash was received directly by the paymaster general from the Treasury Department and forwarded to the supervising paymaster of a given "pay district" or field headquarters. They were also known as Union Loyalists or Lincoln's Loyalists. [114], In the field, each regiment was authorized an ordnance officer (to be chosen from among the unit's lieutenants) who, assisted by an ordnance sergeant, saw to the requisition and issuing of arms to the troops and management of the regimental ammunition train. [105], At the start of the war the inspectorate consisted of Colonel Sylvester Churchill, the senior IG of the Army, and Colonel Joseph K. Mansfield, the junior IG. ), horses and mules (Cavalry Bureau), forage and fuel, and non-Ordnance vehicles including wagons, ambulances and traveling forges. These included, at the onset of the war, the adjutant general, inspector general, paymaster-general, judge advocate general, chief of engineers, chief of topographical engineers, quartermaster general, commissary general of subsistence, chief of ordnance, and surgeon general. A planet's positive pole is determined using its direction of rotation and the right . As a result of the Enrollment Act, rioting began in several Northern cities, the most heavily hit being New York City. [7] (One of the resigning officers was Robert E. Lee, who had initially been offered the assignment as commander of a field army to suppress the rebellion. During the war the department developed a highly effective system of base, advanced, and temporary depots, and mobile beef herds which followed behind Union forces in the field. Congress passed a bill authorizing equal pay for Black and white soldiers in 1864. [130], During the war the principle subsistence depots and purchasing offices were located in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Depot commissaries, assisted by civilian clerks and laborers, received purchases in bulk at these locations and repackaged them for shipment to armies in the field. [126] Among the staggering number of supplies and services acquired by the QMD include approximately a million horses and half a million mules; the movement by rail of over 1.2 million troops; 590 ocean-going vessels under charter or owned outright providing over 190,000 tons of shipping, with another 599 riverine vessels; over 1.6 million tons of coal and 500,000 cords of wood; over 22 million bushels of corn, 78 million of oat, 1.5 million tons of hay and 21,000 tons of straw and other fodder; more than $23 million for the rental, construction and maintenance of Army property; and over 51,000 standard Army wagons and 5,300 ambulances. p. 179-185, American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [6 Volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Taylor & Francis. Other functions included administering recruitment, overseeing the appointment of chaplains, maintaining personnel records, and issuing instruction books and other forms. Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were important in the Union Army in maintaining the order and alignment of formations during marches, battles, and transitioning between the two. Serving as the chief-of-staff to McClellan, Marcy did not formally take up his duties as senior IG until after the Battle of Antietam, by which point however his association with McClellan had soured Marcy's relationship with Secretary Stanton, who sent him on inspection tours of various geographical departments. The regiments were scattered widely. Examples include Franz Sigel and Michael Corcoran. (2017). Therefore, the ratio of U.S. Army to Confederate professional officers was 642 to 283. All line officers outranked staff officers except in cases pertaining to their staff assignment, in which they received their orders from their respective department chiefs. These funds were then distributed under armed guard to the officers and soldiers within the pay district. Nevertheless, Congress eventually approved for women to serve as nurses, to which Dorothea Dix - appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses - was responsible for setting hiring guidelines and starting a training program for prospective candidates. Societal prejudices saw women as too delicate and the job too unsuitable for women of social rank, particularly at the thought of unmarried women surrounded by thousands of men in close quarters. [103] During the war, the civilian nature of the Corps' mission was largely suspended and it undertook the role of reconnaissance, construction of defensive works and supplying maps to the Army. As the war dragged on and casualties mounted, governors reacted to their constituents' complaints and instead began to issue commissions on the basis of battlefield rather than political competence. When he died on September 29, 1861, he was succeeded by his deputy, Joseph Pannell Taylor. NCOs in the Volunteer forces were quite different from their Regular counterparts as the war began. Each congressional district was appointed a provost marshal who served on a "board of enrollment". [120], The Quartermaster's Department (QMD) was the most important and extensive department of the Union Army, not least because it provided transportation services to the entire Army, including the other supply departments. The general staff included representatives of the other combat arms, such as a chief of artillery and chief of cavalry (the infantry being typically represented by the commanding officer) and representatives of the staff bureaus and offices. By the time the war ended in 1865, about 180,000 Black men had served as soldiers in the U.S. Army. Although the scope and scale of the Civil War was beyond any prewar planning, the professional competence of the department allowed it to quickly meet every challenge. The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. The pre-war Regular Army numbered approximately 16,400 soldiers, but by the end while the Union Army had grown to over a million soldiers, the number of Regular personnel was still approximately 21,699, of whom several were serving with Volunteer forces. [4] The initial call-up was for just three months, after which many of these men chose to reenlist for an additional three years. Get top headlines from the Union-Tribune in your inbox weekday mornings, including top news . [108], Added to the relatively small number of Regular Army medical personnel were a further 546 surgeons and assistant surgeons of US Volunteers, appointed by the president to supplement Regular Army personnel in staff positions; another 5,532 civilian doctors employed under contract (mainly in general hospitals) as acting assistant surgeons; a small number of medical officers of the Veteran Reserve Corps; and the thousands of regimental surgeons and assistant surgeons appointed to the Volunteer regiments by their respective state governors. What side was the union army on North or South? In March 1864 it was placed in charge of casualty evacuation (U.S. Ambulance Corps) and the organization and operation of medical supply trains. p. 2425, United States Army Logistics (1997), pages 199-200, Beers, H. P., Munden, K. W. (1998). Eventually the fraud and corruption was brought under control and ORDD was able to bring its arsenals' productions levels up to where they could meet the Army's need. The Union: A Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War. When Hammond was arrested, court-martialed and dismissed in August 1864, Barnes was promoted to fill his position. Many were the wives or other female relatives of the soldiers themselves who saw to their personal needs and (if time allowed) looked to the well-being of other soldiers. McPherson states that witnessing the slave system of the Confederacy first-hand also strengthened the anti-slavery views of Union soldiers,[94] who were appalled by its brutality. [139] About 1 out of 3 deserters returned to their regiments, either voluntarily or after being arrested and being sent back. Commentators such as Emory Upton would later argue that the reliance on militia for the nation's defense was responsible for prolonging conflicts and making them more expensive in both money and lives spent. It was the smallest of the four supply departments, and even as the army grew to encompass over a million soldiers the department itself barely expanded in size. To this were added the many civilians working at the quartermaster depots or with quartermasters in the field. Much information on Civil War departments can be found in Eicher & Eicher, Civil War High Commands . An estimated 100,000 white soldiers from states within the Confederacy served in Union Army units. Was the Union army fighting for the north or the south? The department's senior leadership was unwilling to wholeheartedly embrace this technology without extensive field testing, and worried over delays from retooling manufacturing equipment and other logistical concerns that went with their adoption. Lee disapproved of secession, but refused to bear arms against his native state, Virginia, and resigned to accept the position as commander of the Virginian Confederate forces. Congress approved in July 1864 the appointment of ten depot commanders to the rank of colonel, while other commanders either received a Volunteer commission or brevet rank of brigadier general for as long as they remained at their depot. Approximately 20% of these officersmost of them Southernersresigned, choosing to tie their lives and fortunes to the Army of the Confederacy. Alleging that the war was merely an upper-class abolitionist war to free slaves who might move north and compete for jobs and housing, the poorer classes did not welcome a draft, especially one from which a richer man could buy an exemption. [3] Of these soldiers, 596,670 were killed, wounded or went missing. Instead there were two Inspector Generals (IGs) with the rank of colonel whose duty was to conduct inspections and investigations to ensure the Army was organized and operating at full readiness, but these were done in an ad-hoc manner at the discretion of the Secretary of War. While resistant to the lobbyists like his predecessors, Dyer was a more enthusiastic proponent of breech-loading and repeating rifles. Armies South, Armies North. It was not until after the war began however that Congress formally authorized the appointment of a Judge Advocate General (JAG) and creation of the Bureau of Military Justice, a de facto department and forerunner to a true Judge Advocate General's Department. Although Southern Unionists came from all classes, most differed socially, culturally, and economically from the region's dominant pre-war planter class. [98][100], The US Engineer Battalion served ably as part of the Army of the Potomac, but on its own was insufficient to see to the Army's need for engineers throughout the different theaters of war. Over 10,000 German Americans in New York and Pennsylvania immediately responded to Lincoln's call, along with Northern French Americans, who were also quick to volunteer. Often literally a daughter of one of the regimental officers, these women looked to the soldiers' well-being but also served as their regiment's "mascot" who inspired the men by wearing stylish clothing and enduring the same hardships as them. [90][91], No less vital were the thousands of women who provided service to the Union Army in the field of espionage. p. 284-287, United States Army Logistics, pages 202-204, Hess, E. J. Officer appointments depended on the commission grade and whether it was in the Regular or Volunteer forces. [94] He stated that "Experience in the South reinforced the antislavery sentiments of many soldiers. Additionally, all provost marshals and special agents were empowered to arrest any stragglers and send them to the nearest military post. 87 (U.S. War Department)", Southerner vs. Southerner: Union Supporters Below the Mason-Dixon Line, "The Cosmopolitanism of the Union Army: What Did It Mean? A year later when army corps were officially created a CS with the rank of lieutenant colonel was authorized to serve on their staff, and in February 1863 the department was further expanded when the CGS was promoted to brigadier general, a second assistant CGS was added with the rank of colonel, and two additional majors were authorized. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. That was the day that Congress initially approved and authorized subsidy to allow and support a volunteer army of up to 500,000 troops to the cause. His obstinate behavior saw Craig relieved and replaced with James Wolfe Ripley on April 23, 1861. Among memorable field leaders of the army were Nathaniel Lyon (first Union general to be killed in battle during the war), William Rosecrans, George Henry Thomas, and William Tecumseh Sherman. p. 194-195, Griffith, P. (2001). When the American Civil War began in April 1861, the U.S. Army consisted of ten regiments of infantry, four of artillery, two of cavalry, two of dragoons, and three of mounted infantry.
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