Biography

The Army of the Cumberland was a collection of Union forces stationed for most of its existence in Tennessee. The force was originally known as the Army of the Ohio, though it was stationed in Kentucky. William Tecumseh Sherman was the army's first commander. However, Sherman was going through a very public, prolonged nervous breakdown and was removed as commander by late 1861.

After Sherman, the Army of the Ohio was put under the command of General Don Carlos Buell. It officially became of the Army of the Cumberland in 1862 after the Battle of Perryville, in Kentucky. Union command was not pleased with Buell's performance during the battle, and he was replaced with Major General William S. Rosecrans in November of that year.

The Army of the Cumberland's first major fight was the December 1862 Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Confederate Army of Tennessee, led by General Braxton Bragg, was pushed back to Tullahoma by Rosecrans's forces. During the Tullahoma Campaign, Rosecrans was able to push Bragg out of Middle Tennessee entirely.

The Army of the Cumberland's next major battle took place in 1863 September at the Battle of Chickamauga. Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee defeated Rosecrans's forces so soundly that the Union general was relieved of command of the Army of the Cumberland. He was replaced by General George H. Thomas.

Under Thomas, the Army of the Cumberland did not engage in many independent conflicts, but helped other campaigns. For instance, its first major contribution under Thomas's leadership was joining Sherman's Army of Tennessee in the Chattanooga Campaign. The second (and final) important campaign the Army of the Cumberland fought under Thomas was Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in 1864.

Citation:

"Army of the Cumberland", Middle Tennessee State University http://mtweb.mtsu.edu/tullproj/aoc_main.html (accessed 20 Feb 2015).

Citation:

Van West, Carroll. "United States Army of the Cumberland." The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2011.

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