| Army of Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Active | June 26, 1862 – September 12, 1862 |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Field Army |
| Size | 50,000-100,000 peak |
| Engagements | Battle of Cedar Mountain Second Battle of Bull Run |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maj. Gen.John Pope |
TheArmy of Virginia was organized as a major unit of theUnion Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in theAmerican Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, theConfederateArmy ofNorthern Virginia, commanded byRobert E. Lee.
The Army of Virginia was constituted on June 26, 1862, by General Orders Number 103, from four existing departments operating aroundVirginia: Maj. Gen.John C. Frémont's Mountain Department, Maj. Gen.Irvin McDowell's Department of the Rappahannock, Maj. Gen.Nathaniel P. Banks's Department of the Shenandoah, and Brig. Gen.Samuel D. Sturgis's brigade from the Military District of Washington. Maj. Gen.John Pope commanded the new organization, which was divided into three corps of over 50,000 men. Three corps of Maj. Gen.George B. McClellan'sArmy of the Potomac later were added for combat operations.
Radical Republicans in Congress and the Cabinet saw the Army of Virginia as taking the lead in widening the goals of the war. The senior officers of the Army were stronger advocates of the abolition of slavery and the southern way of life and had a smaller proportion of West Point graduates than the contemporaryArmy of the Potomac.[1]
Banks's corps of the Army of Virginia fought againstStonewall Jackson at theBattle of Cedar Mountain, gaining initial advantage, but was defeated by a Confederate counterattack led byA.P. Hill.
The entire army was soundly defeated at theSecond Battle of Bull Run by Jackson,Longstreet, and Lee, and withdrew to the defensive lines ofWashington, D.C. On September 12, 1862, the units of the Army of Virginia were merged into the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia was never reconstituted.
The first three corps were given numeric designations that overlapped with those in theArmy of the Potomac. They were redesignated as shown for theMaryland Campaign and later.
The following corps were attached for operations during theNorthern Virginia Campaign:
