The corps took part in a skirmish with Bragg's rearguard at Liberty Gap, Tennessee, during the Tullahoma Campaign in June 1863.

It fought its only major battle under this designation at Chickamauga, where it suffered horrendous casualties in the two days of fighting.

After James B. McPherson was killed in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, Oliver O. Howard was made commander of the Army of the Tennessee.

It played a major part in the seizure of Savannah in December and was actively engaged throughout the Carolinas Campaign, particularly at Bentonville, where it absorbed the main blow of Joseph E. Johnston's counterattack.

Because fighting at Bentonville had not destroyed Johnston's army, Sherman replaced Williams with the more aggressive Joseph A. Mower.