Hi everyone! My name is Ryan Quinn
and I am a park Ranger and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
and this is a Civil War 160th in 60.
I'm standing inside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center
next to a Ninth Army Corps flag in our display area
about the Overland campaign of 1864.
The flag here presents an interesting story
and that is the return of Ambrose Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps
to the Virginia theatre of operations.
After his successful defense of Knoxville Tennessee
in the fall of 1863
Ambrose Burnside and his well traveled Ninth Corps
Returned to Virginia in the spring of 1864.
Specifically, they landed in Annapolis Maryland in April,
and then about a Month later began the long march down to Virginia
To join the rest of the Army of the Potomac.
Burnsides return to that army posed an interesting command dilemma
to officers within the Army of the Potomac.
And the tis the fact that Burnside actually outranked George Gorgon Meade,
who was a division commander under Burnside at the Battle of Fredericksburg
and has now commanded the Army of the Potomac since the battle of Gettysburg.
Burnside however agreed to kind of
work independently off the army
in answering directly to Ulysses S. Grant,
recently promoted to General and Chief of the entire United States Army.
Not everybody was very eager to see burnside return to the army.
Charles Wainwright, who was a 5th Corps Artillery Officer,
kind of doubted Burnside and others were not so eager to see
the man who had led them at Fredericksburg return.
But, Burnsides men will fight hard and often in the Spring of 1864,
including Burnside's 4th Division
which is made entirely of African American United States Colored Troops,
who first see action here not very far from Chancellorsville,
on May 15th, 1864. Really interesting story.
We encourage you to come out to Chancellorsville and learn a little bit more.
Thank you so much.