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Army of Northern Virginia
Civil War Encyclopedia >> Armies - Confederate
| May 31, 1861 | P. G. T. Beauregard ordered to assume command of the Alexandria Line | Virginia |
| July 21, 1861 | (First) Manassas (Confederate)
(First) Bull Run (Union) About 25 miles southwest of Washington the first major battle of the Civil War pits Irvin McDowell [US] against P. G. T. Beauregard [CS] and Joe Johnston [CS]. |
Virginia |
| William Tecumseh Sherman | ||
| First Manassas - First Bull Run | ||
| P. G. T. Beauregard | ||
| Irvin McDowell | ||
| Joseph E. Johnston | ||
| James Longstreet | ||
| John B. Gordon | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| Richard Ewell | ||
| Samuel Garland | ||
| Ambrose Burnside | ||
| Samuel Heintzelman | ||
| March 8, 1862 | Joseph E. Johnston orders the Confederate Army of the Potomac to withdraw from Centerville/Manassas to the Rappahannock River based on reports from JEB Stuart of increased Yankee activity | Virginia |
| Joseph E. Johnston | ||
| J. E. B. Stuart | ||
| April 12, 1862 | Combining the Confederate Army of the Potomac with John Magruder's Army of the Peninsula and a large garrison at Norfolk, President Jefferson Davis creates the Army of Northern Virginia. | |
| Jefferson Davis | ||
| Joseph E. Johnston | ||
| Peninsula Campaign | ||
| John Magruder | ||
| June 1, 1862 | Jefferson Davis replaces wounded Army of Northern Virginia commander Joseph E. Johnston with Robert E. Lee | |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Joseph E. Johnston | ||
| Jefferson Davis | ||
| June 1, 1862 | Robert E. Lee issue the first orders bearing the name Army of Northern Virginia | |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| August 13, 1862 | Robert E. Lee issues orders in preparation for the Army of Northern Virginia's movement north to engage John Pope's [US] Army of Virginia | Virginia |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| August 17, 1862 | J. E. B. Stuart assumes command of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia | |
| J. E. B. Stuart | ||
| August 29, 1862 August 30, 1862 |
Second Manassas[CS]
Second Bull Run[US] General John Pope [US] lost to General Robert E. Lee[CS]. General James Longstreet's [CS] 28,000 man assault on August 30 was the largest simultaneous assault of the war in this Confederate victory. Union losses 13,830 Confederate losses 8,350 Also includes: Manassas Plains, Gainesville |
Virginia |
| James Longstreet | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| Second Manassas - Second Bull Run | ||
| Fitz-John Porter | ||
| Northern Virginia Campaign | ||
| John Pope | ||
| Gouverneur K. Warren | ||
| John Reynolds | ||
| Army of Virginia | ||
| Joseph Hooker | ||
| Samuel Heintzelman | ||
| September 6, 1862 | Army of Northern Virginia enters Frederick | Maryland |
| Antietam | ||
| September 14, 1862 | Battle of Turners Gap
Battle of Fox's Gap Battle of South Mountain Battle of Cramptons Gap George McClellan reacts to finding Special Order No. 191 with attacks on the gaps in South Mountain, forcing Lee to reorganize at Sharpsburg |
Maryland |
| George McClellan | ||
| Special Orders No. 191 | ||
| Antietam | ||
| William B. Franklin | ||
| Rutherford B. Hayes | ||
| September 17, 1862 | Battle of Sharpsburg (Confederate)
Battle of Antietam (Union) Army of the Potomac under McClellan [US] defeats the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee [CS], resulting in the bloodiest day in American history. Union losses:12,401 men 2,108 dead 9,540 wounded 753 missing Confederate losses:10, 406 1,546 dead 7,752 wounded 1,108 missing |
Maryland |
| Bloodiest Civil War battles | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| George McClellan | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| George Meade | ||
| Lafayette McLaws | ||
| Antietam | ||
| Edwin Vose Sumner | ||
| September 19, 1862 September 20, 1862 |
Skirmishes at Shepherdstown, Ashby's Gap, Williamsport, and Hagerstown, as Confederates under A. P. Hill covered the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia from Sharpsburg. Lee would keep a heavy cavalry presence in the area until October. | Maryland Virginia West Virginia |
| Antietam | ||
| A. P. Hill | ||
| December 13, 1862 | Battle of Fredericksburg
General Ambrose Burnside and the Army of the Potomac is soundly beaten by Lee's Army of North Virginia. |
|
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Ambrose Burnside | ||
| Lafayette McLaws | ||
| Fredericksburg | ||
| William B. Franklin | ||
| Edwin Vose Sumner | ||
| Jubal Anderson Early | ||
| John Reynolds | ||
| Joseph Hooker | ||
| May 1, 1863 May 4, 1863 |
Battle of Chancellorsville
General "Fighting Joe" Hooker's Army of the Potomac is defeated by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as it crosses the Rappahannock on the way to Richmond Union: 17,268 Confederate: 12,821 |
Virginia |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Joseph Hooker | ||
| Bloodiest Civil War battles | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| Lafayette McLaws | ||
| Chancellorsville | ||
| John Reynolds | ||
| Darius Couch | ||
| George Stoneman | ||
| May 30, 1863 | Robert E. Lee restructures his Army of Northern Virginia, creating three corps under James Longstreet, Dick Ewell and A. P. Hill. | |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| A. P. Hill | ||
| James Longstreet | ||
| Richard Ewell | ||
| July 1, 1863 July 3, 1863 |
Battle of Gettysburg
General Robert E. Lee [CS] advances into Pennsylvania where he meets George Meade [US]. First battling north of the city, by the second day Union forces had retreated south, forming a strong line as men arrived almost continuously. On the third day, the infamous Pickett's Charge marked the end of the Confederates hope for a victory The bloodiest three days in American history |
Pennsylvania |
| Bloodiest Civil War battles | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| John Bell Hood | ||
| James Longstreet | ||
| George Meade | ||
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| J. E. B. Stuart | ||
| Lafayette McLaws | ||
| Winfield Scott Hancock | ||
| George Armstrong Custer | ||
| Battle of Gettysburg | ||
| Richard Ewell | ||
| George Pickett | ||
| John Reynolds | ||
| August 2, 1863 | Following Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac establish lines with Virginia's Rappahannock River between them. | Virginia |
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| October 9, 1863 | Robert E. Lee [CS] and the Army of Northern Virginia crosses the Rapidan in an attempt to outflank the Army of the Potomac. | Virginia |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| October 11, 1863 | Heavy skirmishing breaks out across a wide front in Virginia as the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac clash between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. | Virginia |
| Army of the Potomac | ||
| May 5, 1864 May 7, 1864 |
Battle of the Wilderness
Ulysses S. Grant [US] is badly beaten on the field by Robert E. Lee [CS] but rather than retreat, Grant advances to Spotsylvania Court House. Union: 17,666 Confederate: 7,750 |
Virginia |
| Bloodiest Civil War battles | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Ulysses S. Grant | ||
| Overland Campaign | ||
| James Longstreet | ||
| Winfield Scott Hancock | ||
| A. P. Hill | ||
| Richard Ewell | ||
| Gouverneur K. Warren | ||
| John Sedgwick | ||
| May 8, 1864 May 19, 1864 |
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
In an inconclusive battle, General Ulysses S. Grant [US] and Robert E. Lee [CS] battle for days southwest of Fredericksburg Union 18,399 Confederate 9,000 |
Virginia |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Ulysses S. Grant | ||
| Bloodiest Civil War battles | ||
| Overland Campaign | ||
| Richard Ewell | ||
| May 31, 1864 June 12, 1864 |
Battle of Cold Harbor
Robert E. Lee [CS] defeats General Ulysses S. Grant [US] and General George Meade [US] |
Virginia |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| George Meade | ||
| Ulysses S. Grant | ||
| Gouverneur K. Warren | ||
| June 15, 1864 April 2, 1865 |
Siege of Petersburg | Virginia |
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| P. G. T. Beauregard | ||
| Ulysses S. Grant | ||
| Siege of Petersburg |
Army of Northern Virginia
The earliest dispatches referring to this army called it simply "The Alexandria Line." The first name of the army was Army of the Potomac, but this was confusing because the Union Army in this area had the same name. Assigned to the Department of Northern Virginia under Joe Johnston's command, the name changed to the Army of Northern Virginia when Jefferson Davis combined the Army of the Potomac, The Army of the Peninsula and a garrison at Norfolk under Benjamin Huger on April 12, 1862. Johnston, however, continued to refer to his command as the Army of the Potomac. It was not until Robert E. Lee assumed command that the name appeared on orders.
It was called the Army of Northern Virginia until the end of The Civil War. Today, the Army is normally referred as the Army of Northern Virginia regardless of the time period. Three men commanded this army, P. G. T. Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston and Robert E. Lee. G. W. Smith was in command for a single day, June 1, 1862, the second day of the Battle of Fair Oaks.
Links appearing on this page:
The earliest dispatches referring to this army called it simply "The Alexandria Line." The first name of the army was Army of the Potomac, but this was confusing because the Union Army in this area had the same name. Assigned to the Department of Northern Virginia under Joe Johnston's command, the name changed to the Army of Northern Virginia when Jefferson Davis combined the Army of the Potomac, The Army of the Peninsula and a garrison at Norfolk under Benjamin Huger on April 12, 1862. Johnston, however, continued to refer to his command as the Army of the Potomac. It was not until Robert E. Lee assumed command that the name appeared on orders.
It was called the Army of Northern Virginia until the end of The Civil War. Today, the Army is normally referred as the Army of Northern Virginia regardless of the time period. Three men commanded this army, P. G. T. Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston and Robert E. Lee. G. W. Smith was in command for a single day, June 1, 1862, the second day of the Battle of Fair Oaks.
Links appearing on this page:
April 12
April, 1862
Battle of Fair Oaks
Benjamin Huger
Jefferson Davis
Joe Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
June 1
June, 1862
P. G. T. Beauregard
Robert E. Lee
The Civil War
Civil War Encyclopedia >> Armies - Confederate
Army of Northern Virginia was last changed on - May 17, 2007
Army of Northern Virginia was added in 2005
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