Sherman, Memoirs, p. 487; McMurry, Atlanta, pp. 33–34, 100. The Right Wing of the XVI was detached for other duty; this was supposedly a temporary arrangement, but these troops never served with the main Army of the Tennessee again. See Civil War Archive, XVI Corps HistoryArchived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine.
For a concise description of the various elements of Sherman's force, see McMurry, Atlanta, pp. 32–34; a detailed order of battle can be found in the Official Records at OR I, v. 38/1, p. 89.
See Special Orders, No. 78, HQ, Dept. of the Missouri, December 20, 1861, OR I, v. 52/1, p. 201; Grant, Memoirs, p. 189. It appears that Grant formally assumed this new command as of December 23, 1861. See Eicher, Commands, p. 264; General Orders No. 22, HQ, Dist. of Cairo, December 23, 1861, Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, 3:330.
General Orders, No. 37, HQ, Dept. of the Missouri, February 14, 1862, OR I, v. 8, p. 555; Eicher, Commands, pp. 856–57. At this time, the geographical limits of his district were "not defined." See General Orders No. 1, HQ, Dist. of West Tennessee, February 17, 1862, Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, 4:230.
See Special Field Orders, No. 35, HQ, Dept. of the Mississippi, April 30, 1862, OR I, v. 10/2, p. 144.
Smith, Grant, pp. 213–14; Einolf, Thomas, pp. 128–29; Special Field Orders, No. 90, HQ, Dept. of the Mississippi, June 10, 1862, OR I, v. 10/2, p. 288; Halleck to Buell, June 22, 1862, OR I, v. 16/2, pp. 48–49 ("General Thomas has orders to report to you, but at present his division should not be moved beyond Tuscumbia [Alabama]"); Halleck to Buell, July 15, 1862, OR I, v. 16/2, p. 151 ("Thomas ... [will] re-enforce you and be replaced by one of Grant's divisions"); Grant to Halleck, July 23, 1862, OR I, v. 17/2, p. 114 ("Morgan's division [of the Army of the Mississippi] has relieved Thomas [at Tuscumbia]").
Marszalek, Halleck, pp. 125–28; Grant, Memoirs, pp. 256, 258, 261; Smith, Grant, p. 213. At this stage, the District of West Tennessee was defined to include "all that portion of the State west of the Tennessee River and Forts Henry and Donelson." See General Orders, No. 33, HQ, Dept. of the Mississippi, June 12, 1862, OR I, v. 16/2, p. 20.
Special Field Orders, No. 161, HQ, Dept. of the Mississippi, July 16, 1862, OR I, v. 17/2, p. 101; District returns for July 31, 1862, OR I v. 17/2, pp. 143–44; Smith, Grant, p. 216.
General Orders, No. 159, War Dept., October 16, 1862, OR I, v. 17/2, p. 278. The department initially included portions of Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. By late 1864, after various changes in its boundaries, "the Department effectively vanished" as a geographic entity, but the name "continued to be used along with the command of the Army of the Tennessee until 31 Mar. 1865." See Eicher, Commands, p. 848.
The numbers assigned the various corps emanated from Washington and were part of a nationwide scheme. See General Orders, No. 210, War Dept., December 18, 1862, OR I, v. 17/2, p. 432; Woodworth, Victory, p. 264; Sherman, Memoirs, p. 326.
Grant, Memoirs, p. 367; Departmental returns for July 1863, OR I, v. 24/3, pp. 567–68. A detailed order of battle can be found in Martin, Vicksburg, pp. 217–22.
Indeed, Sherman's first returns as departmental commander, for October 1863, show only the XV, XVI, and XVII Corps and report a total strength of 135,000. See OR I, v. 31/1, p. 817.
Sherman, Memoirs, pp. 372–90; Marszalek, Sherman, pp. 237–42; General Orders, No. 2, HQ, Military Div. of Mississippi, October 19, 1863, OR I, v. 30/4, p. 476.
For a concise description of the various elements of Sherman's force, see McMurry, Atlanta, pp. 32–34; a detailed order of battle can be found in the Official Records at OR I, v. 38/1, p. 89.
During this period Grant served as "second in command under the major-general [Halleck] commanding the [Department of the Mississippi]." The major units of three armies in the department (the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Tennessee or West Tennessee) were shuffled into a new organization that included three "wings" and a reserve. The right wing, which included four divisions from Grant's forces and one division from the Army of the Ohio, was commanded by George H. Thomas. Although Grant's forces were redistributed between the right wing and the reserve, he was expressly continued in overall command of "the Army Corps of the Tennessee" and the District of West Tennessee. See Special Field Orders, No. 35, HQ, Dept. of the Mississippi, April 30, 1862, OR I, v. 10/2, p. 144.
Sherman, Memoirs, p. 487; McMurry, Atlanta, pp. 33–34, 100. The Right Wing of the XVI was detached for other duty; this was supposedly a temporary arrangement, but these troops never served with the main Army of the Tennessee again. See Civil War Archive, XVI Corps HistoryArchived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine.
