Second Corps, Army of Tennessee

The Second Corps, Army of Tennessee was a military formation in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

The Corps was originally formed before the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 by combining Daniel Ruggles' Alabama Division and Braxton Bragg's Army of Pensacola. The Corps was forming in Corinth, Mississippi, when it was made the II Corps, Army of the Mississippi. It contained two divisions; the first one was under Jones Withers and the second was under Daniel Ruggles. The II Corps numbered 22,000 men, making it the largest in the Confederate Army, and was placed under command of Braxton Bragg.

At its first battle (Shiloh), the Corps initially drove Benjamin Prentiss's Union division from their camps. But when Prentiss, Wallace and their divisions dug in at the Hornet's Nest, Bragg assaulted the position from all sides for hours without dislodging them. Suffering heavily, the Second Corps was completely disorganized by the time they forced Prentiss out and was held in reserve for the rest of the battle, briefly fighting on the second day.

With many line officers killed or wounded, the Corps took months to refit. Fighting in the Corinth Campaign, the Corps was later re-organized for its next operation in September 1862, the invasion of Kentucky.

The II Corps after Corinth was again reorganized with two divisions, the first under Patton Anderson and the second under Simon Buckner. The Corps was now led by William Hardee, and Braxton Bragg was promoted to army command. The Corps was only lightly engaged at Perryville, however, and the entire Army wasn't even present.

The Corps and the entire Army were re-organized again. John Breckinridge and his division, who had fought at Shiloh but were absent at Perryville, were now attached. Numbering 11,000 men, his division boosted the strength of the corps by 40%. Anderson's division was dispersed between Buckner and the I Corps, but to replace him was a division from Kirby Smith's Army under John Mcown. Buckner was sent to Knoxville, but his division was then placed under the brilliant commander Patrick Cleburne. The Corps all in all numbered approximately 25,000 men; McCown's division had 5,000, Breckinridge had 11,000 and Cleburne had 9,000.

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