Formation Date
- July 26, 1861
Dissolution Date
- June 28, 1865
Commanders
Significance
- The Army of the Potomac traces its roots to the Department of Northeastern Virginia, and the Army of Northeastern Virginia.
- Brigadier General Irvin McDowell commanded the Army of Northeastern Virginia (which later became the Army of the Potomac) from May 27 to July 25, 1861.
- Confederate forces defeated The Army of Northeastern Virginia (which later became the Army of the Potomac) at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.
- On July 25, 1862, U.S. War Department combined the Department of Northeastern Virginia with the Department of Washington to create the Division of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan.
- Major General George B. McClellan commanded the Division of the Potomac and the Army of the Potomac from July 26, 1861, to November 9, 1862.
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Peninsula Campaign (March 17–August 14, 1862).
- The Army of the Potomac reinforced Major General John Pope’s Army of Virginia during the Northern Virginia Campaign (July 19–September 1, 1862).
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Maryland Campaign (September 4–September 20, 1862) and the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862).
- Major General Ambrose E. Burnside commanded the Army of the Potomac from November 9, 1862, to January 26, 1863.
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Fredericksburg Campaign (November–December 1862) and the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11–15, 1862).
- Major General Joseph Hooker commanded the Army of the Potomac from January 26 to June 27, 1863.
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Chancellorsville Campaign (April – May 1863) and the Battle of Chancellorsville (April 30–May 6, 1863).
- Major General George G. Meade commanded the Army of the Potomac from June 27, 1863, to June 28, 1865.
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Gettysburg Campaign (June 3–July 23, 1863) and the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–July 3, 1863).
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Overland Campaign (May 5–June 24, 1864).
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Petersburg Campaign (June 1864–March 1865).
- The Army of the Potomac participated in the Appomattox Campaign (March 29–April 12, 1865).
- The Army of the Potomac paraded in the Grand Review of Union Armies in Washington, DC on May 23, 1865.
- On June 28, 1865, General George G. Meade issued General Orders No. 35 announcing that the Army of the Potomac “as an organization, ceases to exist.”