November 29, 1863
When Tennessee seceded from the Union on June 8, 1861, the majority of the population in the eastern part of the state remained loyal to the Union. Consequently, the governor was forced to send military personnel to Knoxville to enforce the vote for secession. Because of the number of loyalists in the area, President Abraham Lincoln considered the liberation of East Tennessee to be of paramount importance.
On June 8, 1861, Tennessee became the last Southern state to secede from the Union. The decision, however, was far from unanimous. In the eastern part of the state, the referendum for secession lost by some 20,000 votes at the polls. Initiating an independent secessionist movement, citizens of East Tennessee petitioned the state legislature to form a new state that would remain in the Union. The governor responded by sending military personnel to Knoxville to enforce the statewide vote for secession. Despite attempts to coerce the population, many residents in East Tennessee and Knoxville remained pro-Union throughout the American Civil War.
President Abraham Lincoln considered the liberation of East Tennessee to be of paramount importance. Beyond the moral and political duty to support the loyal citizens of that part of the Union, East Tennessee was strategically valuable. The main railway connecting the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia to Chattanooga, Tennessee and on to the Deep South ran through Knoxville. In addition, East Tennessee farmers produced large amounts of food supplies that could be used to sustain whichever side controlled the area. Despite its strategic importance and being high on the president's list of priorities, events in other theaters of the war delayed any major Union action in the area until the Army of the Ohio, commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside, moved to occupy East Tennessee in the summer of 1863. By the time Burnside neared Knoxville, events occurring in the Chickamauga Campaign had forced most of the Confederate defenders to move to southern Tennessee, leaving only a token force behind. Burnside's cavalry reached Knoxville on September 2, almost unopposed. On September 3, Burnside marched his army into Knoxville and was warmly received by the citizenry. With Knoxville occupied, Burnside next captured the Cumberland Gap on September 9. and he turned his attention to clearing the area of any remaining Rebels.
Shortly after Burnside secured East Tennessee, Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee soundly defeated Major General William Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-20). Bragg drove Rosecrans's army out of northern Georgia, back to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then besieged the city for two months. As the Union situation at Chattanooga worsened, Washington officials ordered Burnside to leave Knoxville and march south to help lift the siege. Burnside moved toward Chattanooga, but his advance was slowed by skirmishes with Confederate cavalry from Virginia.
Meanwhile, in southern Tennessee, Bragg was aware of the threat Burnside's army posed to his investment of Chattanooga. During the siege, relations between Bragg and fellow Confederate General James Longstreet deteriorated because of Longstreet's criticism of Bragg's failure to pursue the defeated Federals more aggressively at Chickamauga. Wanting to rid himself of Longstreet, Bragg received approval from Confederate President Jefferson Davis to detach Longstreet from Bragg's command and to send Longstreet north to deal with Burnside. Bragg planned on Longstreet being able to drive Burnside away, re-capture Knoxville, and return south before Ulysses S. Grant, who had replaced Rosecrans, could attempt a breakout from Chattanooga.
On November 4, 1863, Longstreet departed from the Chattanooga area on the;East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad;with a force of about 10,000 infantrymen, supported by about 5,000 cavalry troopers. Progress was slower than expected, however, as the transport trains, loaded with soldiers and supplies, had trouble negotiating the steep mountainous grades in the region. Longstreet was unable to cross the Tennessee River until November 14. The two armies engaged at the Battle of Campbell's Station on November 16, before Longstreet withdrew to his fortifications at Knoxville.
With the Federals safely entrenched in Knoxville, Longstreet decided to besiege the city on November 19. However, Longstreet also knew that he could be recalled to Chattanooga at any time if Grant threatened Bragg's investment there. Thus, Longstreet also searched for a weakness in Burnside's fortifications that he might exploit. Longstreet decided that Fort Sanders, northwest of Knoxville, was the most vulnerable position in Burnside's defenses. On November 29, Longstreet ordered a surprise attack on the fort, which was protected by a twelve-foot-wide ditch with vertical sides ranging from four to ten feet deep. Crossing the ditch under enemy fire proved impossible and the Federals repulsed the assault in only twenty minutes. Confederate losses were heavy. Of roughly 4,000 men engaged in the attack, over 800 were casualties (129 killed, 458 wound, and 226 captured). Federal losses were only around 20 men.
Ohio units that participated in the Battle of Fort Sanders included:
Infantry units:
44th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
100th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
103rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
104th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Artillery units:
Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment
19th Ohio Artillery Battery
Cavalry units:
2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
45th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Mounted Infantry
Before Longstreet could plan another assault, he received news of Bragg's defeat at Missionary Ridge (November 25, 1863) and of the Confederate retreat into Georgia. Bragg ordered Longstreet to abandon his siege at Knoxville and rejoin the Army of Tennessee in Georgia. Grant, however, had sent a relief force toward Knoxville, commanded by William T. Sherman. Upon learning that Sherman was headed to Knoxville, Bragg changed his mind and ordered Longstreet to stay at Knoxville as long as possible, to prevent Sherman from returning to Georgia. Longstreet held out until December 4, when he lifted the siege of Knoxville and marched his army northeast.
