Book Review: Sherman’s Other Army: The Second Army of the Ohio 1863-1865
Sherman’s Other Army: The Second Army of the Ohio 1863-1865. Michael J. Klinger. Milford, Ohio: Little Miami Publishing, 2023. Softcover, 308 pp. $25.00.
By Michael C. Hardy
Several armies during the Civil War gained fame, such as the Army of the Northern Virginia and the Army of the Tennessee. However, there were many other organizations that seemed to fall under the radar. The second incarnation of the Army of the Ohio was one of those groups. In Sherman’s Other Army: The Second Army of the Ohio 1863-1865, author Michael J. Klinger sheds some light on this revived field command.
The first Army of the Ohio had its roots in the Midwest with the formation of the Department of the Ohio, the Department of Kentucky, and the Department of the Cumberland. There was also a list of successive commanders, including Generals George B. McClellan, Ormsby M. Mitchell, Robert Anderson, and William T. Sherman. In late 1861, the various departments were reorganized under Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. He created five divisions, which became known as the Army of the Ohio. The first Army of the Ohio fought at Mill Springs, then captured Nashville. They also fought at Shiloh, Corinth, and Perryville. Buell’s lackluster pursuit of Confederate forces after Perryville led to his removal, and the first Army of the Ohio dissolved with the reorganization of the Department of the Cumberland.
In April 1863, the IX and XXIII Corps reconstituted the Army of the Ohio. The IX Corps was composed of men from New England, New York, and Michigan, while the XXIII Corps had regiments from Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and other places. Soon after formation, the IX was off to Vicksburg, leaving only the XXIII Corps. They chased John Hunt Morgan to Ohio and captured Knoxville after the Confederates abandoned most of East Tennessee in the late summer of 1863. Under Burnside’s command, the XXIII Corps was able to withstand Longstreet’s siege of Knoxville. Major General John G. Foster replaced Burnside, who headed back east. Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield, replaced Foster and held command through the Atlanta Campaign, and Hood’s Tennessee campaign in late 1864. The Army of the Ohio participated in the Carolinas campaign, where the X Corps was added, and witnessed the surrender of Confederate forces at the Bennett Place, North Carolina, in April 1965.
Klinger jumps right into the history of the second Army of the Ohio, summarizing its various commanders and campaigns. Of interest is Maj. Gen. George Stoneman’s role. During the Atlanta Campaign, Stoneman and his cavalry were attached to the XXIII Corps. Stoneman led his men on an ill-fated raid in July 1864 and was captured on July 31. After his release, Stoneman continued to command cavalry, leading a raid into western North Carolina at about the time that the Army of the Ohio arrived in the eastern part of the state.
Klinger could have delved more deeply into the subject matter. For example, a chapter on a corps level medical department would be a welcome addition, as would more information on the second Army of the Ohio’s post-war veterans’ reunions. Klinger mentions an Army of the Ohio veterans’ group but gives readers no other details. How often did they meet? Did Schofield or any of the other commanders attend? Were they more memorial or political in their focus?
Sherman’s Other Army breaks from traditional Civil War history conventions in a few ways. It contains two versions of an order of battle, but instead of being positioned in the rear of the book where one normally finds them, they are tucked in between chapters. It also seems that every map in the book is borrowed from a previously published text. A fresh set of maps detailing the movements of the brigades and divisions during various battles would have been helpful. Additionally, it is not clear why Klinger switches to a first-person narrative approach about half-way through the book, but it is little disconcerting.
The book contains numerous photographs of soldiers who served in the Army of the Ohio, which is always helpful to readers wishing to get a sense of the men who made up an army. It also includes the standard notes, bibliography, and index. Many of the chapters are short, some just a couple of pages.
Overall, Sherman’s Other Army is an adequate summary of the activities of the second Army of the Ohio during the war. While it seems like several opportunities to dive more deeply into a less-studied Federal army were missed, it still provides Civil War enthusiasts with a good introduction.
Michael C. Hardy is an award-winning and widely published author. A graduate of the University of Alabama, he has written on a large array of subjects — Confederate regimentals, Southern places, and personalities — in twenty-six books, numerous articles, and over one thousand blog posts. In 2010, Hardy was named North Carolina Historian of the Year by the North Carolina Society of Historians. He was also awarded the James I. Robertson Literary Prize by the Robert E. Lee Civil War Library and Research Center in 2018 for his history of the Branch-Lane Brigade, General Lee’s Immortals (Savas Beatie, 2018). When not researching, writing, and traveling, he volunteers at historic sites, sharing his love for history.
