Army of Potomac

L´ Armée with Potomac was principal the Armée with the Union on the Eastern theater of the American Civil War.

History

The day before the American Civil War, rare were the officers of the army of the the United States having more than one brigade gathered in only one place. The regular army was ridiculous (16 400 men) and its troops, dispersed most of the time in small detachments in forts and stations on the Frontier . However, as of the release of the war in 1861, of the armies of an unknown size before in North America, were presented on the battle fields. Largest, the Army of Potomac, was the creation of the general George B. McClellan, called “the Napoleon young person”. In spite of her talent for the organization and her military formation, McClellan did not bring any proof of her resemblance to Bonaparte, with the commander confederated Robert E. Lee. However, the army which it builds was intended to carry the cause of the Union towards the victory.

The organization of the infantry of McClellan followed the model established by Napoleon for the Large army. The basic tactical unit being the body, composed of three or four divisions each one divided into three or four brigades, plus a brigade of Artillery, for total of 10 000 with 15 000 men. The complexity of this organization required the creation of escutcheons or badges which allowed the fast identification of the units and the localization of the commanders on the battle field. The badges of the bodies, usually authorized with their commanders, appeared in 1862 and soon, were placed on the standards. To finish, the general payment No.53 of the Army of Potomac (May 1863) introduced a standard system for this one, to each body was thus allotted a distinctive badge. The standard of the body was blue, a tail fourchue and showing the badge and the number of the body. The standards of divisions and the brigades were respectively rectangular and triangular, with a distinctive arrangement of color for each one. There were also standards for the brigade of the artillery body and the general headquarter.

Other armies of the Union and departments military adopted a similar system concerning the standards, but no general regulation of the army not governing their design, was published at the time of the American civil war. However, the badges of uniforms and the standards of the army of the United States of today have their origins their origins in the badges and flags of this time.

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