XVII Corps ( Union Army ) XVII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War . It was organized December 18 , 1862 as part of Ulysses S . Grant ' s Army of the Tennessee . It was most notably commanded by Maj . Gen . James B . McPherson and Maj . Gen . Francis P . Blair II , and served in the Western Theater . Creation . In October 1862 the XIII Corps and XIV Corps were created in the Western Theater . At the time it was created the XIII Corps constituted the entire Army of the Tennessee under Ulysses S . Grant . Initially Grant subdivided the corps into the Right , Left and Center wings . Major General James B . McPherson led the Center of the XIII Corps . On December 18 , 1862 the XIII Corps was officially divided . The Center officially became the XVII Corps with McPherson still in command and was originally composed of three divisions under John A . Logan , John McArthur , and Isaac F . Quinby . Vicksburg Campaign . Grant ' s Vicksburg Campaign was the XVII Corps ' first operation . It fought the Battle of Raymond and captured Jackson alongside William T . Sherman ' s XV Corps . On May 16 , 1863 it bore the brunt of the fighting in the Battle of Champion Hill . During the Siege of Vicksburg , it formed the center of the Union forces . Chattanooga and Meridian . While most of the XVII Corps was left in Mississippi , William T . Sherman took the 2nd Division , led by Brig . Gen . John E . Smith , to help in lifting the siege of Chattanooga . Two of Smith ' s brigades ( led by Green Berry Raum and Karl Leopold Matthies ) took a significant part in the Battle of Missionary Ridge . In the winter of 1863 - 1864 Sherman returned to Vicksburg to lead the Meridian campaign . McPherson led the corps during the campaign . Only the 3rd and 4th Divisions and the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division took part ( the 2nd Division still being at Chattanooga ) . Atlanta Campaign . In 1864 General McPherson assumed command of the Army of the Tennessee and for a short time no officer was appointed to command the corps . Eventually Major General Francis P . Blair , Jr . took command . Sherman transferred the rest of the corps to Georgia to take part in the Atlanta campaign . Only the 3rd and 4th Divisions took part in the campaign and these divisions missed much of the early battles but played a major role in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and the Battle of Atlanta . The 3rd Division under Mortimer D . Leggett had a particularly hard fight on Bald Hill . Bald Hill would be renamed Leggett ' s Hill in honor of the division commander . After the fall of Atlanta , General Blair took a leave of absence from the army and General Thomas E . G . Ransom commanded the XVII Corps . When Ransom died of exposure during the pursuit of John Bell Hood ' s army Blair returned shortly after to command of the corps . March to the Sea and the Carolinas . Blair led the corps during the March to the Sea and took part in the capture of Savannah , Georgia . The XVII Corps fought exclusively in the Battle of Salkehatchie River , where two of Blair ' s brigade defeated a Confederate force attempting to block Sherman ' s crossing of the river . Blair and the corps were present at the Battle of Bentonville but did not take an active part in the fighting . Red River Division . One division formerly part of the XVII Corps was dubbed the Red River Division or the Provisional Division and was attached to the Right Wing - XVI Corps under Andrew J . Smith . The division was led by Thomas K . Smith and fought in many of the important battles during Red River Campaign . The Red River Division moved to Nashville . It was again attached to A . J . Smith ' s command only this time it was styled the 3rd Division of the " Detachment of the Army of the Tennessee " . The division was led by Colonel Jonathan B . Moore and was lightly engaged at the Battle of Nashville .