1864
Upon the reorganization of the army, in March 1864, several changes were made. The 3rd Division was broken up, Shaler's Brigade being transferred to Horatio G. Wright's (1st) Division, while the brigades of Henry L. Eustis and Wheaton were placed in the 2nd Division, the command of which was given to General George W. Getty, who had served as a division commander in the IX Corps, and, also, in the VII Corps at the Siege of Suffolk.
The place of the 3rd Division was filled by the 3rd Division of the III Corps, that corps having been discontinued; the command of this division was given to Maj. Gen. James B. Ricketts.
The corps now contained 49 regiments of infantry, an artillery brigade composed of 8 batteries of light artillery (48 guns), and a battalion of heavy artillery acting as infantry; numbering in all, 24,163, "present for duty, equipped".
In the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania of the Overland Campaign, the VI Corps encountered the hardest contested fighting of its experience. At the Wilderness, the Vermont Brigade—Getty's Division—lost 1,232 men out of the 2,800 effectives that crossed the Rapidan River on the previous day. At Spotsylvania, the Jersey Brigade of Wright's Division was engaged in a deadly struggle, the percentage of killed in the 15th New Jersey being equaled in only one instance during the whole war. General Sedgwick was killed by a sniper's bullet at Spotsylvania on May 9, which caused great distress to the soldiers of the corps, who loved and admired their "Uncle John". General Wright succeeded to the command of the corps, Brig. Gen. David A. Russell succeeding Wright in the command of the 1st Division. On May 10, Col. Emory Upton led a storming party of twelve picked regiments selected from the VI Corps; they carried the Confederate works in the "Mule Shoe" after a hand-to-hand fight in which bayonet wounds were freely given and received. On May 12, the entire corps fought at the "Bloody Angle", where the fighting was the among the closest and deadliest of any recorded in the Civil War. The casualties of the corps at the Wilderness were 5,035 (719 killed, 3,660 wounded, 656 missing); and at Spotsylvania, 4,042 (688 killed, 2,820 wounded, 534 missing).
In the assault at Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864, the corps sustained another severe loss, 2,715 of its number killed or wounded. Accompanying the army to Petersburg, it participated in the preliminary operations incidental to the investment of that stronghold. But its stay was of short duration. Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's invasion of Maryland necessitated a transfer of troops to confront him, and the heroes of Marye's Heights were selected for that duty in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. On July 6, Ricketts's (3rd) Division embarked at City Point, and, landing at Baltimore on July 8, marched out to meet Early. This division took part in the Battle of Monocacy on the following day, and, although unable to defeat Early, checked his advance on Washington, D.C., giving the defenses their time to organize. The other two divisions embarked on July 10 and, landing at Washington, attacked Early, whose advance had reached Fort Stevens, within the city limits. The brunt of this fight fell to the lot of Brig. Gen. Daniel D. Bidwell's (3rd) Brigade, of Getty's (2nd) Division, every regimental commandant in this brigade, but one, being either killed or wounded.
The corps followed in pursuit of Early through Maryland, into Virginia, and up the Shenandoah Valley. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan was placed in command of the Army of the Shenandoah, which was composed of the VI, VIII, and XIX Corps, and its campaign in the Valley was a memorable one by reason of the victories at Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek. In the latter battle occurred the famous incident of Sheridan's Ride from Winchester, followed by a defeat from which Early never recovered. Gettys's division distinguished itself at Cedar Creek, holding off enemy attacks long after other units had retreated. General Russell was killed at Third Winchester, and General Bidwell at Cedar Creek. The casualties of the corps at the Opequon aggregated 1,699 (211 killed, 1,442 wounded, 46 missing). At Cedar Creek, it lost 2,126 (298 killed, 1,628 wounded, 200 missing). Its total loss in the Shenandoah campaign, August 22 to October 20, was 4,899, out of 12,615 "present for duty", in August. General Wheaton succeeded to the command of Russell, while Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour was assigned to the command of the 3rd Division, in place of General Ricketts, who was seriously wounded at Cedar Creek.
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