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V Corps (Union army)

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V Corps (Union army)

The V Corps (Fifth Corps) was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.

The first unit designated as the V corps was organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks (Banks's original command opposed Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign and ultimately became XII Corps.)

The unit better known as V Corps was formed within the Army of the Potomac on May 18, 1862 as V Corps Provisional, which was engaged in the Peninsula Campaign to seize Richmond. It was created by merging Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter's 3rd Division of the III Corps with Maj. Gen. George Sykes' division of U.S. Regular troops, formerly in the Reserve.

Porter became corps commander and his 1st Division was assigned to Brig. Gen. George W. Morell. On July 22, 1862, "provisional" was dropped from the name as the U.S. War Department confirmed it as the V Corps, Army of the Potomac.

The V Corps fought in several battles throughout the Peninsula Campaign, including Hanover Court House, Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Glendale, and Malvern Hill. The corps' losses in the Seven Days Battles were 995 killed, 3,805 wounded, and 2,801 captured or missing, totaling 7,601, or half the entire loss of the army. Of these casualties, 6,837 occurred at Gaines's Mill; the remainder at Mechanicsville, Glendale, and Malvern Hill. The corps was temporarily enlarged on June 14 by George A. McCall's division of Pennsylvania Reserves, which included future stars John F. Reynolds and George G. Meade. The corps fought stoutly at Gaines' Mill in particular, where Porter commanded the Union forces that included only the V Corps and Henry W. Slocum's 1st Division of the VI Corps against nearly the entire Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. After the Peninsula Campaign, the Pennsylvania Reserves returned to McDowell's corps.

George McClellan held a special admiration for the V Corps, especially as Fitz-John Porter was a close personal friend of his, and he often touted it as a model outfit the rest of the army should imitate. The general officers in the corps were all West Pointers and contained no political appointees or nonprofessionals. The presence of regular army troops added a more professional air to the V Corps than the others, and discipline and drills were typically stricter. In addition, the army artillery reserve was attached to the corps.

The V Corps saw action at the Second Battle of Bull Run, fighting on the left wing of the Union army. Losses of the small corps were 331 killed, 1,364 wounded, and 456 missing; a total of 2,151, out of about 6,500 engaged. Two of the corp's six brigades were not engaged and George Morell was temporarily detached, his division being commanded by Brig. Gen Daniel Butterfield. One brigade, composed of two regiments under Gouverneur K. Warren, made a futile stand against the Confederate attack on the Union left flank.

The corps was lightly engaged at Antietam. Morell's division saw no action at all, while some of the regular division participated in the fighting and were employed to plug various holes in the army's line during the battle. A new division of nine month regiments had been attached, led by Brig. Gen Andrew A. Humphreys but it did not arrive until after the battle was over.

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