History
Civil War Armies at the time took their name from the Department that it was born out of. This is the reason for the naming of the Army of the Potomac, born out of the Department of the Potomac. At the time of the war, the Union named most of its departments, and thus its armies, after naturally occurring landmarks, specifically water courses, i.e. The Army of the Potomac, The Army of the James, The Army of the Gulf, etc. In opposition, the Confederacy named most of their Armies for geographic areas and states.
Read more about this topic: XXII Corps (Union Army)
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