Howard's right wing and the southern flank

This section follows Oliver O. Howard's right wing, including the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps under Peter J. Osterhaus and Francis P. Blair. The Fifteenth Corps held the more exposed southern side, sometimes dividing again to use separate roads and river approaches. Howard had lost an arm at Seven Pines, later ran the Freedmen's Bureau, and combined an evangelical reputation with a willingness to use harsh measures when he believed victory required them. Osterhaus and Blair brought Vicksburg-era experience to formations that had already campaigned under Grant. The force had to protect the vulnerable flank while maintaining the distributed movement that made the march difficult to block.