Knox County TN Archives History - Books .....Military History - Chapter X 1900
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Book Title: Standard History Of Knoxville

CHAPTER X.
MILITARY HISTORY.

Early Indian Wars—Col. John Williams' Regiment—The Mexican War— Volunteers for
Both the Union and the Confederate Service— Sanders' Raid—Knoxville Receives
Gen. Burnside—Is Besieged by Gen. Longstreet—A Sanguinary Battle—Fort
Sanders—Knoxville Pension Agency—In the Spanish War—Warm Welcome to Returning
Volunteer Soldiers.

THE part played by the people of Tennessee in wars with Indians made necessary
by the occupation of the territory by white men and through the
misinterpretation and misunderstanding of treaties, has been sufficiently set
forth in earlier chapters in this work. It remains therefore necessary to deal
with the wars that came subsequently, that is, with the "second war for
independence," the Indian wars caused thereby, the war with Mexico, the war of
the Rebellion and the war with Spain.

  No sooner had war with England become imminent in 1812, than that country sent
emissaries among the Indians to the south of Tennessee for the purpose of
engaging them as allies in her cause, which was a part of her policy as to all
the Indians on the southern, western and northwestern settlements of the United
States. At length the massacre at Fort Minims thoroughly aroused the people of
this state, and they with alacrity sprang to> arms. This massacre occurred
August 30, 1813, and the legislature almost immediately authorized a call for
3,500 troops to join the 1,500 already in the field. An appropriation was also
made of $300,000 for defraying the expenses of the war. Governor Blount
commissioned General Cocke to command the troops furnished by East Tennessee,
and General Jackson those from what is now Middle Tennessee. With his accustomed
energy General Jackson was soon in the field, and established a camp which he
named Fort Deposit, but on account of low water in the upper branches of the
rivers in East Tennessee the supplies from that part of the state, which were in
great demand, were long delayed, causing some disappointment and bitterness.
While awaiting these supplies the General wrote letters to Governor Blount and
General White, urging the utmost dispatch in having them forwarded. The battle
of Talladega was fought December 8, 1813, without the cooperation of General
Cocke or General White, the latter being, however, within twenty-four miles of
Jackson's camp at Fort Strother, resulting in great loss to the Indians. General
White joined General Jackson at Fort Strother on the 13th of the month.

  After considerable severe fighting between General Jackson and the Indians he
was reinforced in March. 1814, by 2,000 men from East Tennessee under command of
General George Doherty, and also by a regiment from the same portion of the
state commanded by Colonel John Brown. A terrible battle was fought in a bend of
the Tallapoosa river, called from its shape Tohopeka, meaning horseshoe, in
which the Indians lost more than 700 men, and then, after almost continual wars
with the Indians up to 1836, volunteers were called for in June of that year,
the apportionment of Tennessee being 2,000 men. Of the troops from East
Tennessee, which rendezvoused at Athens, R. G. Dunlap was elected
brigadier-general, and the last fighting done by soldiers from Tennessee in
these Indian wars was at the battles at the Wahoo Swamp, November 18 and 21,
1836, though the wars themselves can not be said to have come to an end before
1842.

  Of the soldiers that went from Knox county, for it would be impracticable to
distinguish between those that went out from the city of Knoxville and those
that went from the county, were those of the Thirty-ninth Regiment United States
Volunteers, of which John Williams was the colonel; and which by June 18, 1813,
had in its ranks about 600 men. Thomas H. Benton was the lieutenant-colonel, and
Lemuel P. Montgomery, major. The captains of the several companies were as
follows: Samuel Bunch, who afterward became colonel of a regiment of militia in
General White's brigade; James Davis, John Jones, John B. Long, John Phagan,
Thomas Stuart and William Walker. Some of the first lieutenants were as follows:
David Lauderdale, David McMillen, Nathaniel Smith, Guy Smith, A. Stanfield, and
J. O. Tate, while the second lieutenants were Andrew Greer. N. Dortch, M. W.
McClellan, M. C. Molton, Simpson Payne, R. Quarles, and J. K. Snapp. The third
lieutenants were as follows: Dicks Alexander. A. G. Cowan, Joseph Denison, R. B.
Harvey, Joseph S. Jackson, Ellis Thomas and T. B. Tunstall. One of the ensigns
was Sam Houston.

  Colonel Williams, after the return of Judge Hugh L. White from a visit to
General Jackson, decided to go at once to the assistance of that general,
reaching him March 1, 1814, and on the 27th of that month participated in the
battle of Tohopeka. In this battle Major Montgomery was killed, and Sam Houston
severely wounded. The regiment remained in the Creek country until after the
signing of the treaty of peace and was mustered out June 15, 1815.

  This brings us down again to 1836, when a company was recruited to serve two
months as militia in the Seminole war. The captain of this company was Dr. James
Morrow; first lieutenant, Samuel B. Kennedy; and second lieutenant, Thomas C.
Lyons. The regiment to which this company was assigned assisted to remove the
Cherokee Indians to the west of the Mississippi river, and Lieutenant Lyons was
promoted to a position on the staff of General Wood.

  In the war with Mexico Knox county bore no inconsiderable part. Upon the
declaration of war by President Polk, the appointment of Tennessee was made
2,000 men, but it was finally decided to accept 1,600 infantry and 800 cavalry.
The people throughout the state were exceeding anxious to enlist. The state was
divided into four military districts: one in East Tennessee, two in Middle and
one in West Tennessee.

  From East Tennessee went the Knoxville Dragoons, organized June 10, 1846, with
William R. Caswell, captain: Samuel Bell, first lieutenant; Calvin Gossett,
second lieutenant, and James Anderson, third lieutenant. This company went to
Memphis, and there became a part of the Second Regiment Tennessee Volunteer
Cavalry, of which J. E. Thomas was colonel; R. D. Allison, lieutenant-colonel;
and Richard Waterhouse, major. The first and second regiments were with General
Tavlor at Matamoras, and soon afterward found the hot weather and general
climatic conditions extremely prejudicial to health, and in fact they suffered
much more from these than from the bullets of the Mexicans. The two regiments
participated in the battle of Monterey September 21, 1846, the city surrendering
on the 25th. Of the 350 men in the charge, 105 were lost, the killed numbering
26, wounded 77, and the missing 2.

  Both Tennessee regiments were then assigned to General Pillow's brigade, which
on December 14 started for Tampico on the way to Vera Cruz, reaching the latter
place on March 9, 1847. On the 22d the siege guns opened on Vera Cruz, the
bombardment continuing until the 27th, the city of Vera Cruz and the strong
castle of San Juan de Ulloa surrendering on the 29th. The Tennessee regiments
then went with General Scott to the City of Mexico, fighting the battle of Cerro
Gordo on the way, on April 18, 1847, and losing in all 79 men, all but eight of
them from the Second Cavalry. Their time of service having expired, they were
then sent to New Orleans and mustered out.

  A call was then made for two additional regiments from Tennessee, the Third
and Fourth, and for a battalion of six companies, known as the Fourteenth. Two
companies of the Fourth regiment were raised in Knox county, one commanded by
Capt. Parsons the other by Capt. Jordan T. Council. Of this latter company the
first lieutenant was Tazewell Newman; the second, Joseph H. Crockett: the third,
Thomas McAffry, and the orderly sergeant, James Henderson. The company was
ordered to Memphis, and there became company D, Fourth Tennessee infantry, with
Richard Waterhouse, of Rhea county, colonel; J. D. Swan, lieutenant-colonel, and
McD. J. Burch, major.

  But the greatest event in the history of Tennessee, as of the Union at large,
was the war of the Rebellion. Because of the peculiar condition of society in
the eastern part of the state, only one in twenty of the population being
slaves, the stronghold of the Unionists was in East Tennessee. And this was true
even after the firing on Fort Sumter, this fact being due in large part to the
attitude assumed by such leaders as Andrew Johnson, T. A. R. Nelson, William G.
Brownlow, Horace Maynard, Connolly F. Trigg. Oliver P. Temple, and others who,
though of less prominence, were yet of equal patriotism. These men and such men
as these did all in their power to prevent Tennessee from seceding from the
Union. The first great movement that distinguished East Tennessee from the rest
of the state in this matter was made in May, 1861, on the 30th of which month
there assembled at Knoxville five hundred delegates from all portions of East
Tennessee, in pursuance of the following call, the meeting being held in
Temperance Hall:

  "The undersigned, a portion of the people of East Tennessee, disapproving of
the hasty and inconsiderate action of our general assembly, and sincerely
desiring to do, in the midst of the trouble which surrounds us, what will be the
best for our country, and for all classes of our citizens, respectfully appoint
a convention to be held in Knoxville on Thursday, the 3Oth of May inst.; and we
urge every county in East Tennessee to send delegates to this convention, that
the conservative element of our whole section may be represented, and that wise
and judicious councils may prevail—looking to peace and harmony among ourselves.
F. S. Heiskell.       John Williams.        W. H. Rogers.
John J. Craig.        S. R. Rogers.         John Baxter.
Dr. W. A. Rogers.     O. P. Temple.         W. G. Brownlow.
John Tunnell.         C. F. Trigg.          C. H. Baker.
David Burnett.        And others."

  After prayer by Rev. Thomas W. Humes, Hon. Thomas A. R. Nelson was made
permanent chairman and John M. Fleming secretary: the chairman and General
Thomas D. Arnold delivered addresses, and a general committee was appointed
representing most of the counties in East Tennessee, of which Connolly F. Trigg
was chairman, and the convention adjourned until next day. At this time a report
of the general committee was presented, debated and adopted. This report
consisted of a long preamble and twelve resolutions, the principal ones of which
were as follows:

  "First. That the evil which now afflicts our beloved country in our opinion is
the legitimate result of the ruinous and heretical doctrine of secession; that
the people of East Tennessee have ever been and we believe still are opposed to
it by a very large majority.

  "Second. That while the country is upon the very threshold of a ruinous and
most desolating civil war, it may with truth be said, and we protest before God,
that the people (so far as we can see) have done nothing to produce it.

  "Sixth. That the legislature of the state, without first having obtained the
consent of the people, had no authority to enter into a 'military league,' with
the 'Confederate States.' against the general government, and by so doing to put
the state of Tennessee in hostile array against the government of which it then
was and still is a member. Such legislation in advance of the expressed will of
the people, to change their governmental relations, was an act of usurpation and
should be visited with the severest condemnation of the people.

         *       *       *       *       *

  "Eighth. That the general assembly in passing a law authorizing the volunteers
to vote wherever they may be on the day of election, whether in or out of the
state, and in offering to the 'Confederate States' the capitol of Tennessee,
together with other acts, have exercised powers and stretched their authority to
an extent not within their constitutional limits, and not justified by the
usages of the country.

         *       *       *       *       *

  "Tenth. That the position the people of our sister state of Kentucky have
assumed in this momentous crisis, commands our highest admiration. Their
interests are our interests. Their policy is the true policy, as we believe, of
Tennessee and all the border states. And in the spirit of freemen, with an
anxious desire to avoid the waste of the blood and treasure of the state, we
appeal to the people of the state of Tennessee, while it is yet in their power,
to come up in the majesty of their strength and restore Tennessee to her true
position."

  The convention adjourned to meet at the call of the president.

  Andrew Johnson then followed with an able address in favor of the Union. A
large number of these resolutions was printed and distributed throughout the
state, but the tide of secession in Middle and West Tennessee was so strong that
it was impossible to check its progress. It was so strong, in fact, that many
ardent and able Union men were carried away with it, and became the most
powerful advocates of the destruction of the Union. At the election held on June
8, 1861, there were cast in East Tennessee against secession 32,962 votes, while
the entire number cast in the state against this doctrine was only 47,274. And
it is somewhat remarkable that the number of soldiers furnished to the Union
army by East Tennessee should be almost precisely the same. viz., 31,092.

  Three days after this election was held Judge Nelson issued a call for the
East Tennessee convention to meet on the 17th of the month at Greeneville, which
convention was attended by delegates from all the counties in East Tennessee
except Rhea. It remained in session four days. At this convention a declaration
of grievances was adopted and a series of resolutions similar to those already
quoted as having been adopted at the Knoxville convention. The third resolution
entire was as follows:

  "Third. That in order to avert a conflict with our brethren in other parts of
the state, and desiring that every constitutional means shall be resorted to for
the preservation of peace, we do therefore constitute and appoint O. P. Temple
of Knox, John Netherland of Hawkins and James P. McDowell of Greene,
commissioners, whose duty it shall be to prepare a memorial and cause the same
to be presented to the general assembly of Tennessee, now in session, asking its
consent that the counties composing East Tennessee and such counties in Middle
Tennessee as desire to co-operate with them, may form and erect a separate state."

  The fourth resolution provided for an election to be held in the counties of
East Tennessee and such adjacent counties of Middle Tennessee as might desire to
unite with East Tennessee, at which election delegates should be chosen to meet
in convention at Kingston at such time as the proper officer of the convention
should select, and in the sixth resolution it was provided that Knox county
should be represented by three delegates, Washington, Jefferson and Greene two
each, and all the other counties one each.

  There were published in pamphlet form 20,000 copies of the proceedings of this
Greeneville convention, the same pamphlet containing the proceedings of the
Knoxville convention. Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, which had a large circulation
in East Tennessee, was a powerful influence in favor of the Union cause, and
taking all thing's into consideration, it was seen by the Confederate
authorities and those favoring secession that nothing but military force could
accomplish anything in East Tennessee toward suppressing the Union sentiment
existing there, stimulated and maintained as it was by such men as Judge T. A.
R. Nelson. Connolly F. Trigg, Oliver P. Temple and William G. Brownlow.

  The unconquerable Union sentiment thus existing in the eastern part of the
state did much to prevent and delay the organization of regiments to aid the
Confederate cause, and several of the young men favoring this cause, anxious to
enter the field, went down into Georgia and united with the first regiment
raised in that state. But as it was seen by the secession leaders to be
necessary to suppress the Unionists who would, if left to follow out their own
will and policy, destroy communication between Virginia and the states southwest
of Tennessee, the old fair grounds two miles west of Knoxville were converted
into a camp for such secession companies and regiments as might be organized in
East Tennessee. On May 29, the Third (Confederate) Tennessee regiment, made up
mainly from citizens of Monroe county, which was strongly secession, was
organized, and soon afterward the Fourth and Nineteenth regiments were also
organized. On July 26, General Zollicoffer reached this camp and assumed command
of the Confederate forces in East Tennessee, remaining in Knoxville until the
following September, when he went to Cumberland Gap. leaving Col. W. B. Wood in
command of the camp at the fair grounds. November 15, Col. Wood was succeeded by
General W7. H. Carroll, with General G. B. Crittenden as division commander,
wrho also had his headquarters at Knoxville.

  The first company organized in Knox county for service in the Confederate army
was Company E. Nineteenth Tennessee infantry, which was in May, 1861, with the
following officers: Dr. John Paxton, captain: John Miller, first lieutenant:
George Boyce, second lieutenant: L. B. Graham, third lieutenant; Samuel
Hamilton, orderly sergeant. In 1862 this company was reorganized and then had
officers as follows: W. W. Lackey, captain: S. Abernethey, first lieutenant; H.
A. Waller, second lieutenant; J. L. Waller, third lieutenant. Captain Lackey was
killed at the battle of Chickamauga, September 19, 1863, and was succeeded as
captain by Second Lieutenant H. A. Waller. The Nineteenth regiment was organized
at the fair grounds near Knoxville. June 10, 1862, by the selection of the
following officers: D. H. Cummings, colonel; F. M. Walker, lieutenant colonel:
A. Fulkerson, major: V. 0. Johnson, adjutant: J. D. Taylor, quartermaster: H. M.
Doak, sergeant major; J. E. Dulaney, surgeon, and Rev. D. Sullins, chaplain.

  While Company E, of the Nineteenth infantry mentioned above as the only
company raised in Knox county that joined that regiment, yet there was a
considerable number of residents of Knox county that joined the Fourth infantry,
of which the colonel was W. M. Churchwell, and also the Thirty-first, commanded
by Col. William Bradford. Of this latter regiment James W. Humes was lieutenant
colonel and James White, sergeant major, both of whom were from Knoxville. Of
the Sixty-fifth Tennessee infantry, Company D was partially recruited at
Knoxville in May, 1862, by Captain A. A. Blair. The remainder of the company was
raised in Washington and Hawkins counties. The officers, aside from the captain,
were J. R. McCallum, first lieutenant: J. W. Carter, second lieutenant; J. L.
Wilson, third lieutenant, and R. N. McCallum, orderly sergeant.

  Quite a number of men went from Knoxville and Knox county into the First and
Second Tennessee cavalry. The First Tennessee cavalry was organized at first at
Knoxville in August, 1861, as "Brazletons Battalion." and then consisted of
seven companies commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Brazleton, with William
Bradford as major. In the spring of 1862, when the battalion was reorganized,
James E. Carter became lieutenant colonel and Alonzo Bean, major. Afterward at
Murfreesboro the battalion was recruited to a full regiment, with James E.
Carter, colonel: Alonzo Bean, lieutenant colonel: Alexander Goforth, major, and
J. D. Carter, adjutant. The only company in this regiment from Knox county was
Company E, of which the captain was John Jarnagin. After seeing service in
various parts of the state, it participated in the siege of Knoxville under Gen.
Longstreet, and remained with him during his stay in East Tennessee.

  In the Second Tennessee cavalry the greater portion of the men from Knox
county were in Company I, of which the captain was N. C. Langford.

  Besides the infantry and cavalry mentioned above there were recruited in Knox
county for the Confederate service four batteries of light artillery. One of
these batteries was organized in the spring of 1861 by H. L. W. McClung; E. S.
McClung was the senior first lieutenant; Alexander Allison, junior first
lieutenant: William Lewis, senior second lieutenant. The battery of this company
consisted of four smooth-bore six-pounders and two twelve-pounder howitzers. 

  Burrough's battery was organized in June, 1861, by W. H. Burroughs, who was
elected captain; James C. Luttrell, first lieutenant; G. A. Huwald, junior first
lieutenant; J. E. Blackwell, senior second lieutenant, and J. J. Burroughs,
junior second lieutenant.

  Kain's battery was organized in March, 1862, with W. C. Kain, captain; Thomas
O'Connor, senior first lieutenant: Hugh L. White, junior first lieutenant; James
Newman, senior second lieutenant, and W. C. Danner, junior second lieutenant.

  Huwald's battery was organized later with G. A. Huwald, captain; G. B. Ramsey,
first lieutenant; William Martin, second lieutenant, and Charles McClung, third
lieutenant.

  As has been stated elsewhere, most of the Union regiments and companies from
East Tennessee were organized in Kentucky from bands of refugees who went to
that state for the purpose of being thus organized, because they could not well
be organized at home. And it necessarily happened that very few companies were
organized wholly from any one county. Of the First Tennessee cavalry Company C
was composed mainly of men from Knox county. This company was organized with
James P. Brownlow, captain, who, upon becoming lieutenant colonel, was succeeded
by M. T. Burkhart; and upon the promotion of Capt. Burkhart to major of the
regiment, the command of the company devolved upon Elbert J. Cannon. The last
captain of the company was Jacob K. Lones, who was commissioned in December,
1863. John Roberts and James H. Smith were successively second and first
lieutenants. The entire number of men in the company, was 122, of whom forty-one
were killed or died of wounds or disease.

  There was also a considerable number of men from Knox county in the Second,
Third, Fourth and Ninth cavalry regiments.

  The First Tennessee cavalry was organized at Camp Garber, Ky., March 1, 1862,
as the Fourth Tennessee infantry, and remained an infantry regiment until
November 1, 1862, when it was transferred to the cavalry arm of the service. The
first officers of this regiment were as follows: Robert Johnson, colonel; James
P. Brownlow, lieutenant colonel; James O. Berry, major, and John Hall, adjutant.
When it became a cavalry regiment, M. T. Burkhart became major and was succeeded
in this office by William R. Tracy. In the summer of 1863, Russell Thornburgh
and Calvin M. Dyer successively became majors, and both of them subsequently
became lieutenant colonels. Henry G. Flagg and Burton Smith were also promoted
to the rank of major, the former in August, 1863, and the latter in July, 1864.

  The Third and Sixth regiments of infantry were also composed largely of men
from Knox county and the county was well represented in the First. Second and
Eighth regiments. The companies in the Third Tennessee infantry, organized in
part or in whole from Knox county men. were D, F, H and I.

  Company D was organized February 10, 1862, with John O'Keefe, captain; W. C.
Robison, first lieutenant; S. L. King, second lieutenant, and W. C. Brandon,
orderly sergeant.

Company F was organized with J. L. Ledgerwood, captain; James Clapp, first
lieutenant; C. Rutherford, second lieutenant, and C. Zachary, orderly sergeant.
Of company H. J. W. Adkinson was captain; J. G. Roberts, first lieutenant, and
W. W. Adkinson, second lieutenant. Not long after the organization J. G. Roberts
became captain and E. C. Roberts first lieutenant. Company I was organized with
E. D. Willis, captain; W. L. Ledgerwood, first lieutenant; J. H. Ellis, second
lieutenant, and R. Bince, orderly sergeant. Afterward by promotion W. L.
Ledgerwood became captain; J. H. Ellis, first lieutenant, and J. C. Bayless,
second lieutenant.

  The Sixth Tennessee infantry was organized almost wholly from Knox county, all
but Companies E and F. Company E was from Claiborne county and Company F from
Campbell county. Company A was organized with A. M. Gamble, captain: Thomas D.
Edington, first lieutenant, and V. F. Gossett, second lieutenant. In August,
1862, Captain Gamble was promoted as major, the inferior officers being
regularly advanced, W. W. Dunn becoming second lieutenant. Company B was
organized with Spencer Deaton, captain; James M. Armstrong, first lieutenant;
Thomas A. Smith, second lieutenant, and William D. Atchely, orderly sergeant. In
May, 1864, James M. Armstrong became captain of the company. Company C was
organized with Rufus M. Bennett, captain; John P. Barger, first lieutenant;
William L. Lea, second lieutenant, and Joseph A. E. Blang, orderly sergeant. In
March, 1863, Lieutenant Lea became captain, and was killed August 6, 1864, being
succeeded as captain by Adam T. Cottrell. G. L. Maloney was made first
lieutenant and James M. Berry, second lieutenant. Company D was organized with
M. D. Bearden, captain: S. L. Gilson, first lieutenant: Thomas Parham, second
lieutenant, and William N. Price, orderly sergeant. In January, 1863, James H.
Coleman became first lieutenant and was succeeded in July, 1864, by J. L.
Turner, F. B. Nickell becoming second lieutenant. Company G was organized with
Francis H. Bounds, captain; A. E. Murphy, first lieutenant; A. M. Cate, second
lieutenant, and Ignaz Fanz, orderly sergeant.

  The officers of this regiment were as follows: Joseph A. Cooper, colonel:
Edward Maynard, lieutenant colonel; William C. Pickens, major; D. W. Parker,
adjutant: William Rule, commissary sergeant, and T. T. Thornburgh, sergeant
major. In August, 1862, A. M. Gamble became major and in 1863 William Rule
adjutant.

  Of the Seventh Tennessee mounted infantry, one company was organized in Knox
county with Charles W. Cross, captain; T. L. B. Huddleston. first lieutenant: S.
D. Webster, second lieutenant, and E. E. Longmire, orderly sergeant.

  On July 10, 1861, Judge T. A. R. Nelson issued a proclamation for an election
to be held August 31, at which delegates were to be chosen as provided by the
convention which had met at Greeneville, but this election was not held. At an
election held during the first week in August, Horace Maynard, T. A. R. Nelson.
and G. W. Bridges were elected representatives to the congress of the United
States, and Judge Nelson, a few days afterward, while on his way to take his
seat in congress, was arrested in Lee county. Virginia, and taken to Richmond,
where he was paroled and sent home. Mr. Bridges was also arrested, in Morgan
county, but was released on taking the oath of allegiance to the Confederate
States.

  Meantime, during the summer and fall of 1861, the Unionists were organizing
themselves into companies and regiments, and preparing for active service in
defense of the government to which they owed allegiance. In some localities this
was done openly because of the prevailing Union sentiment, but in other places
this organizing and drilling had to be carried on in secret. Many of them then
sought opportunity to enlist in Federal regiments by making their way into
Kentucky, where they were organized into regiments.

  On October 11, the Thirty-seventh (Confederate) regiment was organized with
Moses White, colonel; H. P. Moffet, lieutenant colonel, and W. M. Hunt, major.
But it was so difficult to supply this regiment with arms that on December 9,
1861, of the 771 men belonging thereto only 200 had arms of any kind, and many
of these were wholly unfit for use. On December 10, Gen. Carroll, with his
brigade, was ordered to join Gen. Zollicoffer, but could not move until the
close of the month. When he did go away, Major G. H. Monserrat was left in
command at Knoxville. In March, 1862, Gen. E. Kirby Smith took command of the
department of East Tennessee, with his headquarters at Knoxville for a short
time. During the autumn of 1862 and the winter succeeding the post at Knoxville
was under the command successively of Gen. J. P. McCown, Gen. Sam Jones and Gen.
Maury, partially unavailing efforts being made in the meantime to enforce the
conscription act. From April 27, 1863, to the following September, Gen. S. B.
Buckner was in command at Knoxville.

  This town, on account of its position among the mountains, was to a
considerable extent inaccessible to the Federal forces, and it remained
uninterrupted until the summer of 1863. Gen. William P. Sanders, while serving
as chief of cavalry, department of the Ohio, made a raid into East Tennessee, as
if for the capture of Knoxville, leaving Kentucky June 14, with 1,500 men,
composed as follows: First Tennessee mounted infantry, 700 men; Forty-fourth
Ohio mounted infantry, 200 men; One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois mounted
infantry, 200 men; Seventh Ohio cavalry, 150 men; Second Ohio cavalry, 150 men;
First Kentucky cavalry, 100 men, and one section of Konkle's First Ohio artillery.

  This expedition entered East Tennessee at Wartburg, where it captured a small
Confederate force and destroyed some supplies. Passing by Kingston and London,
they being too strongly fortified for successful attack, it first struck the
railroad at Lenoir's, where it captured another small force and began the work
of destroying the railroad, tearing up gaps one mile apart all the way up to
Knoxville, reaching the outskirts of this place on the 19th of the month. It
drove in the Confederate pickets and threw the town into great consternation, as
Gen. Buckner had just gone away to Big Creek Gap with all the available men in
the city with the exception of the Fifty-fourth Virginia and the Sixth Florida.
There was great hurrying to and fro to secure volunteers to man the small number
of guns that were picked up from various parts of the town. But eight pieces of
cannon were got ready for action, manned by convalescents and citizens. These
guns were posted on College hill, on Mabry's hill and on Summit Hill, but the
Union forces made no attack on the city, and there was only a little firing
between the pickets of the two opposing detachments, this being at 2 a. m. of
the 20th. At 8 o'clock, however. Gen. Sanders' men approached the town from the
north, as if they intended to make an attack. Col. Haynes, Confederate
commandant of the place, in the absence of Gen. Buckner, with a section of
Wyly's battery, opened fire upon the Union forces as they closed in on the town
north of the railroad shops, the Unionists taking shelter in the houses and
sending forward sharpshooters to pick off the artillerists. At the same time the
Union artillery opened fire at a distance of 800 yards on the Confederate
batteries on Summit hill, killing Col. Pleasant M. McClung and Lieut. Fellows.

  After a brief show of force, General Sanders withdrew and moved off toward
Strawberry Plains. As he moved up the valley he laid waste the railroad, took a
number of prisoners at New Market, destroyed the bridge at Mossy Creek, and then
turned north to escape a superior force, which he had reason to fear would cut
him off. He reached Kentucky on the 24th of the month, having destroyed the
railroad at intervals from Lenoir's to Mossy Creek. During his next visit to
Knoxville he lost his life.

  On September 3d the advance portion of Gen. Burnside first entered the place,
the general himself following the next day and establishing his headquarters in
a house afterward occupied by the Journal newspaper, on Gay street. On October
22, 1863, the rumor was in circulation that Gen. Longstreet was on his way up
the Tennessee valley from the vicinity of Chattanooga, and in order to meet this
supposed movement. Gen. Burnside sent the greater part of his forces from
Knoxville to Loudon. At London he awaited the coming of Longstreet, who did not
leave Chattanooga until November 4. Burnside's army consisted of the Ninth
corps, commanded by Gen. Potter, and composed of two divisions commanded
respectively by Gen. Hartranft and Gen. Ferrero; the Twenty-third corps,
composed of two divisions, commanded respectively by Gen. White and Gen.
Hascall, and a body of cavalry under Gen. J. M. Shackleford, numbering in all
about 10,000 men.

  Upon the appearance of Gen. Longstreet, Burnside's forces were arranged about
as follows: The Ninth corps at Lenoir's, where a pontoon bridge had been thrown
across the river; White's division was on the north side of the river at London,
and other portions of the Twenty-third corps were at Knoxville under command of
Gen. John G. Parke. Burnside's chief of staff, Gen. Sanders, was in command of a
division of mounted infantry and cavalry south of the river, not far from
Rockford, and there were detachments at Maryville, Kingston and other places.

  Longstreet's army consisted of Gen. Hood's, McLaws' and Wheelers divisions,
and two battalions of artillery commanded respectively by Col. Leyden and Col.
Alexander, the entire strength of his army being about 20,000 men.

  Gen. Wheeler, on the 13th of the month, with three brigades of cavalry,
captured the detachment at Maryville and made an attempt on the heights south of
Knoxville, but was here repulsed by Gen. Sanders after a fierce encounter.
Thereupon he marched down the river to reunite his forces with the main army,
which had thrown a bridge across the river at Huff's Ferry. The day before this
capture of Maryville. Charles A. Dana, assistant secretary of war, and Col.
Wilson, of Gen. Grant's staff, paid a visit to Burnside, and upon consultation
it was determined to hold Knoxville at all hazards and Kingston also, if it did
not involve too much loss. The next morning Burnside began to withdraw his
forces from their position in front of Longstreet and soon after daylight on the
15th had his entire army moving toward Lenoir's, where two days' rations were
issued and the army went into camp for the night. On the 16th Longstreet made a
savage attack on Burnside at Campbell's station, but although gallant charges
were made, he was compelled to retire. In this battle the Union loss was in
killed, 26; in wounded, 166, and in missing, 57. The loss of the Confederates
was in all probability fully as large.

  Gen. Burnside, relieved of the pressure caused by this attack, began his
retreat toward Knoxville, and although the night was very dark and the roads
extremely heavy, he reached his destination by daylight next morning. Chief
Engineer O. M. Poe had already selected the lines of fortification and the work
of intrenching immediately began. Ferrero's division was posted on the west side
of the city, and extended from the river to where the railroad crosses Second
creek; Hartranft's division was on the north, extending from Second to First
creek, along Vine street: and White's division was on the east, from First creek
to the old glass works, and was strengthened by a portion of Hascall's division.
Artillery was placed on all the hills on and within these lines, and a portion
of the artillery supported Cameron's brigade of the Twenty-third corps,
occupying the hills south of the river, across which a bridge had been thrown.

  On the morning of the 17th, in order to delay as much as possible the approach
of Gen. Longstreet, who was advancing by the Kingston pike, the cavalry of Gen.
William P. Sanders was dismounted and sent out to meet him four or five miles
from the city. The entire day was spent in skirmishing with McLaws' division,
which was in the advance. Sanders slowly falling back and McLaws advancing until
night, when Sanders made a determined stand about 500 yards above the house of
R. H. Armstrong, where a line of defense, consisting of rails and rifle pits,
was constructed, extending from the railroad to the river. McLaws occupied a
line parallel to this line of Gen. Sanders, and just in front of the Armstrong
house.

   During the next day Gen. McLaws made strenuous attempts to force back the
Union line, which was stubbornly defended because of the necessity of gaming
time to strengthen the works around the city, every hour, according to Engineer
O. M. Foe, being worth the addition of 1,000 men to the defense. But
notwithstanding the resistance which he met, Gen. McLaws was so determined in
his attack that about three o'clock in the afternoon he succeeded in breaking it
down, and Gen. Sanders rode forward to direct the retreat. When Sanders had
reached a point near the center of his line and immediately in its rear, he was
so conspicuous an object on his snow-white horse that he was shot by a
sharpshooter concealed in the Armstrong residence, and fell to the ground
mortally wounded. He was promptly carried into the city and taken to the Lamar
house, where he died at eleven o'clock next day, having been baptized one hour
previously by Rev. J. A. Hyden, of the Methodist Episcopal church, and by
moonlight in the evening of the 19th he was buried in the yard of the Second
Presbyterian church, in the presence of Gen. Burnside and officers of the Union
army, the services being conducted by Rev. Thomas W. Humes. After the fall of
Gen. Sanders the command devolved upon Gen. Wolford, who succeeded in
withdrawing his forces into the city, and Gen. Longstreet remained satisfied
with the achievement of the day. Next day Gen. Lonsrstreet's command was
disposed for a determined siege, McLaw's division occupying the space between
the railroad and the river; Hood's division that between the railroad and
Clinton pike and Hart's completing the investment by extending from the Tazewell
pike to the river on the east. During the next five or six days Longstreet was
continually receiving reinforcements from Gen. Sam Jones, Gen. Jackson and Gen.
"Cerro Gordo" Williams, and from the 18th to the 24th nothing was done except
skirmishing and the making a few sallies from the Union lines for the purpose of
destroying houses furnishing shelter for the sharpshooters of the Confederate
army. The strengthening of the fortifications went steadily forward under the
direction of Engineer O. M. Poe. First Creek was dammed at the Mabry street
crossing, and Second creek at the railroad crossing, thus flooding the low
ground along the railroad where "Flag Pond" had formerly been. And Fort Sanders,
the name of which had been changed from Fort Buckner immediately after the
killing of Gen. Sanders, was rendered practically impregnable by a deep ditch
all round it. and in front of this ditch there was stretched a network of wires
fastened to the stumps of trees which had been cut down for this purpose in
part, these wires playing a very important part in the defense of the fort when
the assault was finally made upon it.

  On the night of the 24th Longstreet sent across the river near the Armstrong
house a force of about 1,100 men, with the hope of carrying the heights south of
the river, but this attempt was unsuccessful except as to the one hill below the
university, which was captured and upon it placed a battery, which battery,
however, was of little service in the siege. From this time on until the final
attack was made on Fort Sanders but little was done except to make an occasional
sortie for the possession of rifle-pits in front of the fort.

  As is well known, the object of Gen. Longstreet was to starve the Union forces
into surrender, in which he would certainly have succeeded had he cut off all
the supplies from reaching the fort; but large quantities of provisions were
continually brought down the Holston river from the vicinity of the French Broad
under cover of the darkness and the fog, the river not being carefully guarded
by the Confederate forces, and at the close of the siege, when the attack was
made upon the fort, there were within the fortifications a sufficient supply to
last the Federal army ten days. These supplies were freely furnished by the
citizens in the immediate sections of the country, who were loyally disposed to
the Government of the United States. It was therefore this faithfulness on the
part of the people of East Tennessee that saved the city and caused its final
abandonment by the Confederate forces. They were sent down the Holston by
Captain Doughty and his company, who remained on the French Broad during the siege.

  On November 28 Gen. Longstreet heard that Gen. Sherman was approaching the
city for the relief of Gen. Burnside, and upon consultation with his officers
determined that an immediate attack should be made upon Fort Sanders, in order
to reduce it if possible before Sherman could reach the city. And on the morning
of the 29th, which was Sunday, the attack was begun at daylight by three
brigades of Gen. McLaws' division, composed of Mississippi, Georgia and South
Carolina troops, a part of which force was the famous "Barksdale Brigade," but
the obstacles in front of the fort were so numerous and so unexpected to the
Confederate soldiers, especially the network of wire, the construction of which
was suggested to the engineer by J. B. Hoxsie of Knoxville, that they were
thrown into confusion. But notwithstanding the difficulties in the way three
Confederate flags were planted upon the parapet, but the havoc caused in the
assaulting column by the action of Lieut. Benjamin, who, taking the shells in
his hand, cut the fuse to five seconds, lighted them, with his cigar which he
was smoking at the time, and threw them over the embankment into the heroic men
struggling to scale the fortification, and thus caused them to fall back. Thus
while the assault was most gallantly made it resulted in failure and the
shattered forces had to be withdrawn. Longstreet soon afterward began a retreat
up the valley to Morristown, and Gen. Burnside on the 12th of December, having
turned over the command to Gen. Foster, left the city.

  Upon the arrival of Gen. Burnside in Knoxville the previous September, he
appointed Gen. S. P. Carter provost marshal of East Tennessee, and in this
position Gen. Carter remained until the close of hostilities

  Lieutenant-General A. P. Stewart, in his sketch of the Army of Tennessee,
published in the Military Annals of Tennessee, by Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley of
Nashville, says:

  "The year 1863 had been a very eventful one. Vicksburg and Port Hudson had
fallen, and the enemy were in possession of the Mississippi river. Gettysburg,
perhaps the decisive battle of the war, had been fought and lost. The Army of
Tennessee had retreated across the Cumberland mountains, had fought and gained
the great battle of Chickamauga, and, as at Shiloh and Murfreesboro, had lost
the fruits of victory and suffered the disaster of Missionary Ridge. In fact so
full of events of great "pith and moment" was the year 1863, so actively engaged
were the contending armies, and so poor were the means of communication, that
little was known at the time, to the outside world, of the military movements
and the great events that were transpiring in the Valley of East Tennessee. On
September 3, 1863, Gen. Burnside reached Knoxville from Richmond, Ky., with an
army of 20,000 men. Gen. Buckner, evacuating Knoxville, fell back to London, and
finally united with the Army of Tennessee, thus leaving upper East Tennessee
virtually in possession of the Federal army.

  "And after the signal but fruitless victory to the Confederates at
Chickamauga, Gen. Rosecrans was relieved, and the Federal army at Chattanooga
reorganized under Gen. Grant. On the 4th of November a council of war was called
by Gen. Bragg, at which Generals Hardee, Breckenridge and Longstreet were
present. Longstreet's campaign into East Tennessee was settled upon, and he
received orders to begin his preparations, and on the same night the division of
Gen. McLaws was on the march. Part of Gen. Wheeler's cavalry corps, consisting
of Armstrong's and Martin's divisions, accompanied the expedition. On the night
of the 13th and 14th of November, Longstreet's corps crossed the Tennessee river
at Huff's ferry, near London, while Wheeler was sent with three brigades of
cavalry to surprise a Federal cavalry force at Maryville, capture it, and then
move to the rear of Knoxville and endeavor to gain possession of some of the
heights on the south side, and hold until the arrival of the infantry; or,
failing in this, to threaten the force at Knoxville, so as to prevent Burnside
concentrating his forces against Longstreet before he reached Knoxville. Gen.
Wheeler succeeded in surprising the force at Maryville; captured a part of it
and dispersed the balance. He then moved on to Knoxville, and though he failed
to get possession of any of the heights which commanded the town, created the
diversion in Longstreet's favor. Longstreet moved slowly and cautiously but
steadily forward. On the 16th he encountered the Federal force entrenched at
Campbell's Station, and a severe fight ensued; the Federal loss being about
three hundred and the Confederate loss one hundred and ninety-eight. During the
night the main Federal forces were withdrawn into Knoxville and preparations for
defense were pushed actively forward under the able direction of Capt. O. M.
Poe, of the engineer corps. Longstreet closed in to the investment of Knoxville,
but not without severe fighting. The Federal cavalry disputed every inch of
ground. In a charge on the Federal lines on the 18th, the Confederates lost one
hundred and forty men, and among the Federal slain was their gallant cavalry
leader. Gen. Sanders. In his honor the name of Fort London, which was built and
named by Gen. Buckner during his occupancy of Knoxville, was immediately changed
to "Fort Sanders," under which name it has gone into history. While Sanders on
the Kingston road and Pennebaker on the Clinton road were disputing the advance
of Longstreet, every available man in Knoxville was at work on the
fortifications. Capt. Poe, in his report, says: "The citizens of the town and
all contrabands within reach were pressed into service and relieved the almost
exhausted soldiers, who had seen no rest for more than one hundred hours. Many
of the citizens were rebels and worked with very poor grace, which blistered
hands did not tend to improve." But as Capt. Poe says: "The hours in which to
work, that the gallant conduct of our cavalry gave us, were worth to us 1,000
men each." Capt. Poe continues: "At daylight on the morning of November 19, our
position had been much strengthened and we began to feel secure and confident."
From this time until the final assault on Fort Sanders on the 29th, frequent, in
fact almost constant skirmishes occurred: and as Gen. McLaws, in his report,
says: "Sharpshooters, occupying rifle-pits between the main lines, were
constantly exchanging shots whenever the slightest opportunity was offered by
either party for even a chance hit; and they were in easy rifle range of each
other." Artillery practice was kept up with more or less regularity from various
points around the town. By the 28th there had been completed a continuous line
of rifle-pits, connecting a series of strong earthwork forts. The forts were
surrounded by deep, wide ditches. First and Second creeks were dammed so as to
cover a mile or more of the valleys with water; and in front of Fort Sanders the
saplings were cut down and the sharpened stumps converted into a veritable death
trap. Telegraph wires were woven in and around the stumps, stretched tight and
firmly fastened.

  "On account of reports of a battle at Chattanooga there was a serious
difference of opinion between Gen. Longstreet and Gen. McLaws as to the
advisability of assaulting Fort Sanders. Gen. Longstreet, however, in his letter
of November 28, settled the matter by saying: 'The assault must be made at the
time appointed, and must be made with a determination which will insure success.'

  "Gen. McLaws thereupon informed his brigadiers that the assault would be made
at daylight the next morning, Sunday, the 29th of November, and the following1
orders were given for the assault:

  " '1. A regiment from Humphreys' (Mississippi) brigade and one from Wofford's
(Georgia) should be selected to lead in the assault. Wofford's regiment to lead
the column composed of Wofford's brigade assaulting from the left, and
Humphreys' regiment the column assaulting from the right, composed of two
regiments of Humphreys' brigade, and three of Bryan's, following close on
Humphreys as a reserve.

  " '2. The brigades to be formed for the assault in columns of regiments.

  " '3. The assault to be made with fixed bayonets and without firing a gun.

  " '4. The assault should be made against the northwest angle of Fort Loudon.

  " '5. The men should be urged to the assault with a determination to succeed,
and should rush to it without halting, and, mounting the parapet, take
possession of the work and hold it against all attempts to recover it.

  " '6. That the sharpshooters should keep up a continuous fire into the
embrasures of the enemy's works and along the fort, so as to prevent the use of
their cannon, and distract, if not prevent, the fire from all arms.

  " '7. Gen. Kershaw to advance to the assault on the right of the fort so soon
as the fort was taken.'

  "The commands selected for this terrible assault were made up of 'true and
tried' soldiers. Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.' At 4
o'clock on the morning of the 29th, Gen. McLaws saw in the person to the
formation of the assaulting column. The weather was bad, misty and freezing. A
large number of the Confederates were barefooted and thinly clad. At last, as
the first gray streaks of dawn announced the coming of the Sabbath morn, the
booming of Confederate artillery gave the signal for the assault. Though 'cannon
to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon in front of them
volleyed and thundered,' calmly but quickly with fixed bayonets and with the
precision of dress parade, the assaulting columns moved through the mists of the
early morning toward the bastions of the dimly outlined fort. The distance was
short. The garrison was fully aware that the assault was to be made at daylight
and every man was at his post. The embrasures of the fort bristled with
twenty-pound Parrotts and twelve-pound Napolean guns, which had been double and
triple shotted with shot and shell; and which, almost from the moment the
columns moved, had full play upon them. Yet proudly, confidently, heroically and
defiantly the gray, grim and grizzled veterans moved into the 'jaws of death.'
Suddenly the head of the assaulting column was broken, the men pitching forward
and falling over each other. They had struck the invisible telegraph wires
stretched from stump to stump. The gums of the fort belched forth thunder and
lightning into the disordered ranks. Quickly reforming under the galling fire,
the Confederates rushed for the fort, when once again they halted. They had
reached the deep, wide ditch about which they were misinformed, and over which
they had no way to cross. Only for a moment they paused. Apparently endued with
superhuman activity and determination they crossed the ditch, while volley after
volley of artillery and musketry was poured into them: from above, and while
'twenty-pound shells with fuses cut to explode them at twenty seconds were
hurled from the fort into the living mass below.' Still onward was borne the
cross of St. Andrews. The parapet was reached only to find it covered with ice.
Undismayed the boys in gray attempted to scale the slippery sides. A few reached
the top only to meet instant death or capture. Three times the cross-barred
battle flag of the Confederates was planted on the parapet to float only for a
moment. Col. Ruff, commanding Wofford's brigade, and Col. Thomas, his next in
command, had been killed and the next in command wounded, and the brigade forced
to retire. The assault had failed. Gen. McLaws, in his report, says: 'When it
was seen that Wofford's brigade could not mount the parapet, Gen. G. T.
Anderson's brigade of Hood's division came rushing to the assault in the same'
place where my command had attempted it, but was repelled at once and retired.'
E. A. Pollard, the Southern historian, writing of the assault, says: "Never,
except at Gettysburg, was there in the history of the war a disaster adorned
with the glory of such devout courage as seen at Longstreet's repulse at
Knoxville.' The engagement lasted about twenty minutes. 'The Confederate loss,
according to their official reports, was 129 killed, 458 wounded, 226 missing;
total, 813. Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina suffered most. Col. McElroy,
of the Thirteenth Mississippi, was killed while leading the assault on the
right. A few days afterward a Federal courier was captured, bearing an autograph
letter from Gen. Grant to Gen. Burnside, informing him that three columns were
advancing to his relief; one by the south side, under Gen. Sherman; one by
Decherd under Gen. Elliott, and one by Cumberland Gap under Gen. Foster, and
about the same time Wheelers cavalry was ordered to rejoin Gen. Bragg's army,
which had fallen back into Georgia, and Gen. Ransom had ordered two brigades of
his cavalry, which had been operating around Knoxville, to rejoin him. Under
these circumstances, believing it to be impossible to make a junction with Gen.
Bragg. Gen. Longstreet concluded to withdraw in the direction of Virginia, and
his orders to move were issued on December 2. On the night of the 4th the troops
were withdrawn and the memorable siege of Knoxville was raised.

  "In this short sketch it is impossible to mention, much less do justice, to
the various commands engaged. While Knoxville was being besieged by Longstreet,
the cavalry of Gen. Wheelers and Gen. Ransom's commands were by no means idle.
Almost daily encounters were had with the Federal troops in their efforts to
prevent reinforcements or commissary stores from, reaching Burnside's army, and
the soil of East Tennessee drank deep of the blood of the brave and chivalrous
troopers. The facts given in this sketch are taken mainly from official reports
to be published in Vol. XXXI., Part 1, of the 'Records of the War of the
Rebellion.' "

  With reference to the number of Confederate soldiers killed in the attack on
Fort Sanders, it is altogether probable that the number given above (129) is
considerably too low. Some time after the battle occurred Mr. S. T. Atkin went
over the ground where these soldiers had been hurriedly buried, and seeing their
bodies protruding from the ground, being rooted out and eaten by hogs, he
suggested to a wealthy friend, whose name he prefers not to divulge, that they
should be taken up and decently buried. This friend said to him that if he would
have the work done, he (the friend) would pay the expense incurred. Mr. Atkin
thereupon made a contract with James H. Renshaw, an undertaker, to make neat
pine boxes to serve as coffins, and bury the dead in Bethel cemetery, and in due
time Mr. Renshaw brought in his bill for $368, the price agreed upon having been
$4 per corpse, which would make ninety-two buried in this way.

  Besides these ninety-two there were buried immediately after the battle dead
bodies to the number of 300, according to the present sexton of the Bethel or
Confederate cemetery, thus making in all 392 that were killed in storming the fort.

  Fort Sanders was a bastioned earthwork, built upon an irregular quadrilateral,
the sides of which respectively, southern front, 125 yards; western front. 95
yards: northern front, 125 yards, and eastern front, 85 yards. The eastern front
at the time of the attack was entirely open, the southern front was about
one-half done, the western front was finished except cutting the embrasures, and
the northern front was nearly finished. The bastion attacked was the only one
completely finished. The fort was so constructed that apparently none of its
guns protected this northwest corner, and Gen. Longstreet, noticing this fact,
ordered the assault to be made upon it. No sooner, however, had he done this
than the temporary embankments were removed and the guns inside the fort brought
to bear with deadly effect upon the brave and determined men making the charge.

  At the time of this assault there were within the fort Benjamin's battery, a
part of Buckley's battery, a part of the Seventy-ninth New York infantry, four
companies of the Second Michigan infantry, two companies of the Twentieth
Michigan infantry, and one company of the One Hundredth Pennsylvania infantry,
in the aggregate from 220 to 300 men. As to the losses sustained by each side,
there are differences of statement, even in the official reports. Gen. Burnside
on November 30, in his report, said that after the failure of the attack "we
sent out a detachment to whom the rebels in the ditch surrendered, about 300 men
and three stands of colors. Their killed and wounded amount to about 500, and
our entire loss was about 20." Lieut. Benjamin, in command of a battery in the
fort, in his report says: "We took about 250 prisoners, 17 of them commissioned
officers, and over 200 dead and wounded lay in the ditch, among them three
colonels." These were Col. Ruff, commanding Wofford's brigade which led the
assault; Col. McElroy and Lieut.-Col. Thomas. Lieut. Benjamin also says that in
the fort the loss was eight killed and five wounded.

   According to Lieut.-Col. G. Moxley Sorrel, of Longstreet's army, the losses
in that army on the 29th of November, in the assault on the fort, were as follows.

Brigade.              Killed.     Wounded.     Missing.     Total.
Anderson's              33          129          25          187
Woffrrd's               48          121          81          250
Bryan's                 27          121          64          212
Humphrey's              21           87          56          164
                      ____          ___         ___          ___
Totals                 129          458         226          813

  One remarkable thing about this assault was that both Gen. Alexander and Gen.
Longstreet thought there was no ditch in front of the fort, or at least no ditch
that would interfere with the attack. Gen. Longstreet testified before the court
martial that he had seen a man walk down the parapet across the ditch and up on
the outside without jumping and without apparent difficulty, and some of the
officers stated that they had seen dogs passing over the same ditch on the west
side, hence the inference that even if there were a ditch in front of the fort
it would in reality be no obstacle to an assault.

  The spot where Gen. Sanders fell from his horse was marked by a common rough
stone, and there was a solitary cedar tree standing near. This tree is still
standing, about one-half mile east of the Armstrong residence.

  For nearly twenty-five years the battlements of Fort Sanders stood out boldly
against the sky, a monument to the bravery of the men in both armies: but by
1887 streets were run through the fortifications in both directions and
beautiful homes began to be erected on either side of these streets. The same
thing was then occurring or had occurred all over the South, and the old
soldiers by this time began to remember the various battlefields on which they
had struggled to the death with each other as only places where they had
displayed their fortitude, heroism and genius, the fierce passions of the
conflict disappearing even as did the forts and embankments temporarily thrown
up to give a temporary advantage to the army acting on the defensive.

  It is asserted by some people that Fort Sanders should be converted into a
government park or fort. Its condition at the present time (December, 1898) is
as follows: A street runs through the center of the fort, with three or four
residences upon it, which would be available as quarters for officers. The long
slope to the west and north, up which the Confederates made such a gallant
charge, is still open country and the line of the fort is well preserved. By the
natural growth of the city of Knoxviile all of this long slope, containing
nearly eighty acres of land, will be covered with residences should not the
government of the United States soon take action. It would be eminently
appropriate for the government to commemorate the storming and defense of Fort
Sanders, for here was fought one of the most determined and important battles of
the war, and East Tennessee should have a monument which should speak for all
time of a completely reunited country.

  General William P. Sanders, killed in this attempt to retard the progress of
Gen. Longstreet toward Knoxville, was the only Union general from any of the
southern states killed during the Civil war. He fell mortally wounded November
18, 1863, about one mile below or west of Knoxville. He was born in Kentucky and
entered West Point from Mississippi in 1852, graduating from that institution in
1856. At San Diego, Cal., during 1856-57, he was lieutenant of dragoons and
served in the Utah campaign from 1857 to 1861, in the latter year becoming
captain in the United States cavalry in the defense of Washington, D. C. From
August, 1861, to March, 1862, he was thus engaged, and from the latter date to
the fall of 1862 he saw active service in the Peninsular campaign under Gen.
McClellan. He was engaged in the Maryland campaign from September to November,
1862. On March 4, 1863, he became colonel of the Fifth Kentucky cavalry and
joined in the chase after Gen. John Morgan during his famous raid. During
September and October, 1863, he served as chief of the cavalry department of
Ohio> and was in command of a division of cavalry. Twenty-third army corps, from
October 23 to November 18, 1863, the latter day being that on which he fell a
victim to the enemy's bullets. On the day before he had been charged with the
duty of delaying Longstreet's advance upon the city while the intrenchments
about the city were being strengthened, and during the 17th and 18th his
division held the enemy in check though hard pressed, but was driven in toward
the close of the second day.

  The battle thus fought in which General Sanders lost his life was fought
almost entirely between southern troops, it being a clash between General
Sanders' Kentucky division and Kershaw's South Carolina troops. Sanders'
division was composed of the following brigades:

  First brigade—First, Eleventh and Twelfth Kentucky cavalry.

  Second brigade—Eighth Michigan cavalry and Forty-fifth Ohio mounted infantry.

  Third brigade—Eleventh and Twenty-seventh Kentucky mounted infantry. Laws'
howitzer battery and the Fifteenth battery Indiana light artillery.

  Kershaw's command contained the Second, Third, Seventh, Eighth and Fifteenth
South Carolina regiments and the Third battalion, all infantry.

  Sanders' division was dismounted and posted in a transverse line across the
hills from the railroad to the river immediately east of the Armstrong residence
and one mile to the west of Knoxville. Sanders' men were not accustomed to
fighting, but were well armed, some of them with the best rifles then known.
Their stand was so stubborn that it required a strong display of force in
infantry and artillery to drive them back.

  General Longstreet in his official report says:

  "The next day (18th) in riding to Gen. McLaws' front I found that the enemy's
pickets occupied the same ground they had held the day before. Col. Alexander
was ordered to use his guns against this defense. I finally ordered Gen. McLaws
to order his troops to take this position."

  The fighting was very sharp and well sustained on both sides. At 2 p. m. the
Confederate forces moved their battery down to within 600 yards, but
nevertheless the Union forces held their ground. The Confederates charged four
lines deep to within twenty-five yards of the Union line, but were met with such
a terrible shower of Minie bullets that it was impossible for them to make
further headway. Four charges of this kind were made, each being repulsed.
Longstreet says: "Part of the troops moved up handsomely and got partial
possession; others faltered and sought shelter under a rise of ground. When
Capt. Winthrop of Col. Alexander's staff approached the enemy and coming up in
front of the line led the troops over the works, he had the misfortune to
receive a severe wound."

  The Forty-fifth Ohio was overpowered and driven from the field, perceiving
which Capt. B. T. Thompson of the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois ordered his
men to fall back, that part of the Confederate line which had confronted the
Forty-fifth Ohio passed around his right flank and came up in the rear of his
position. After this there was sharp fighting in the vicinity of the Armstrong
residence, and Capt. Thompson captured a colonel and a part of a regiment of
Kentuckians.

  One of the pleasant incidents in the history of Knoxville was the reunion of
the veteran soldiers of both armies, which occurred on October 7, 8 and 9, 1890.
Many were present from both North and South, and there were about 10,000 people
in the city from Tennessee and Georgia. The Seventy-ninth New York volunteer
infantry, otherwise known as the Highlander regiment, was represented by a large
number of its survivors, and on account of its having borne a conspicuous part
in the defense of Fort Sanders on that memorable November 23,1863, was equally
conspicuous on this re-union occasion. A welcoming address was delivered by Gen.
R. N. Hood, which was happily responded to by Gen. William H. Gibson of Ohio. On
the second day Hon. J. W. Caldwell delivered an address, as also did Mr. W. A.
Henderson. An address prepared for the occasion by Gen. Longstreet was read by
Hon. E. A. Angier, of Atlanta, Ga., Gen. Longstreet being unable to deliver it
on account of a wound in the neck which he received during the war. A poem was
read by Mr. J. R. McCallum. which was well received.

  By an act of congress approved March 3, 1819, the secretary of war of the
United States, under whose jurisdiction the payment of pensions was at that
time, was authorized to appoint an agent, in addition to the one already
appointed in Tennessee, for the purpose of paying such pensioners of the United
States as resided in Eastern Tennessee. The precise date of the appointment of
this additional agent can not be ascertained, but the records show that he began
the payment of pensions September 4, 1819, and that he rendered his first
account current, through the secretary of war, to the treasury department,
December 31, 1819. The first pension agent was Mr. Luke Lea, who was then
cashier of the bank of Tennessee at Knoxville. His successors have been as
follows: Robert King, John T. King. William Lyon, John Cocke, Jr., David A.
Deaderick, Isaac Lewis, Samuel Morrow, James E. Armstrong. John Caldwell. Daniel
T. Boynton, Henry R. Gibson, Robert L. Taylor, Joseph H. Wagner, Daniel A.
Carpenter, William Rule, Daniel A. Carpenter, and John T. Wilder, the latter of
whom was appointed December 10, 1897, and is at present in office.

  In connection with the statement which will be found in this chapter as to the
amount of money disbursed from Knoxville to the pensioners of the various wars,
the following information as to the numbers of these pensioners, classified in
accordance with the wars on account of which they draw their pensions, will be
found of interest:

  Under the general law there were at the close of the fiscal year 1897-98,
9,599 invalids: 37 nurses, and 3,908 widows; under the law of June 27, 1890,
25,248 invalids, and 8,103 widows: on account of the war of 1812, 589 widows;
war with Mexico, 2,881 survivors, and 2,850 widows: Indian wars of 1832-42,
1,624 survivors and 3,248 widows. On June 30, 1897, there were on the pension
rolls in Knoxville 57,592 pensioners, and on June 30, 1898, 58,087.

  The following statement of the disbursements by fiscal years from the
Knoxville pension agency, was furnished by request to the writer of this chapter
by the Hon. William Youngblood, Auditor for the Interior Department, Treasury
Department, at Washington, D. C:

  "Statement showing the amount of money paid on account of pensions at the
Knoxville. Tenn., Agency, during the fiscal years 1869 to 1898, inclusive.

"Fiscal Years.          Amounts.
          1869      $ 326,355.53
          1870        572,997.89
          1871        442,650.25
          1872        510,045.32
          1873        455,012.28
          1874        413,506.29
          1875        409,912.73
          1876        371,059.52
          1877        344,909.50
          1878      1,002,262.81
          1879      1,652,781.86
          1880      3,288,926.62
          1881      2,691,993.54
          1882      2,507,932.86
          1883      2,866,820.72
          1884      2,815,612.72
          1885      3,214,278.63
          1886      3,397,011.36
          1887      4,161,745.88
          1888      3,901,978.67
          1889      4,070,189.74
          1890      4,743,603.41
          1891      5,482,196.82
          1892      6,870,276.52
          1893      8,324,748.00
          1894      7,745,817.55
          1895      7,647,587.00
          1896      7,427,514.44
          1897      7,828,709.79
          1898      8,082,496.80

         Total   $103,510,935.05"


  The pension office at Knoxville pays out money to pensioners in the following
states and territories: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, and Oklahoma and
the Indian Territory. There is paid to the employes in this pension office about
$25.000, and supplies cost $2,000, thus $27,000 is spent in Knoxville on account
of the office.

  The primary cause of the war with Spain was her treatment of the Cubans,
concentrating them in cities and towns and starving them into submission to
tyrannical methods of government. The incentive cause was the blowing up of the
United States battleship, Maine, in the harbor of Havana, February 15, 1898, the
explosion causing the disaster being so tremendous as to shake the very city of
Havana, and besides destroying the ship, killing 266 American sailors and
marines. For while there were a few people in the United States who actually
believed that the explosion was the result of an accident interior to the Maine
herself, yet the great majority quickly came to the conclusion, to which they
still rigidly adhere, that the explosion came from the outside. A court of
inquiry consisting of Captain Sampson, Captain Chadwick and Lieutenant Marix was
appointed by Captain Sigsbee of the battleship Maine, and the people of the
United States were requested by Captain Sigsbee to suspend judgment as to the
origin of the disaster until this court of inquiry should have time to
thoroughly investigate and make its report. The popular belief, however, was
strengthened and intensified by the report of Diver J. W. Bonner, who went to
Havana harbor February 23, worked on the wreck until February 28, and found that
the forward turret of the ship had been thrown from the port side of the vessel
backward a distance of seventy feet into the starboard superstructure, and that
the ship's bottom on the starboard side had been thrown up and that it projected
four feet above the surface of the water, which would have been impossible from
an interior explosion.

  A great tidal wave of patriotism swept over the country, which so acted on
congress that on March 7 that body appropriated $50,000,000 to be used by the
President of the United States at his discretion for the public defense, and
while it was thought for a time that foreign nations would array themselves in
support of Spain in case of war between that country and the United States, yet
that fear soon vanished, especially when it became evident that England would
remain steadfastly the friend of the latter country.

  That war was inevitable became evident within one month from the blowing up of
the Maine; but there was much disappointment upon the receipt of the report of
the court of inquiry, for although it confirmed the popular belief in the
exterior origin of the explosion yet it utterly failed to fix the responsibility
therefor.

  March 29 resolutions were introduced into congress providing for the
recognition of the independence of Cuba, and there was much impatience
manifested throughout the country because the President appeared to be opposed
to warlike measures, but the people did not so fully understand the true
condition of the army and navy as did the President. As in other states of the
Union active preparations for war began in Tennessee in advance of the
declaration of war by congress. In the month of March it was decided by the
state authorities to increase the number of men in each company of militia to
100, and the militia was ready before April 1 to respond to any call that might
be made upon them by President McKinley. In order to accommodate all such as
might desire to enter the service of the state the Legion armory in Knoxville
was kept open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, and Major Ramage
of the First battalion was anxious to enlist men enough to fill his companies, A
and B, as soon as possible. March 31 an election of officers for company B was
held, resulting in the election of W. H. Purple, captain; C. M. Dyer, first
lieutenant; J. N. Day, second lieutenant. On April 11 President McKinley, by a
message to congress, asked for the use of the army and navy to secure the
termination of hostilities in Cuba, between Spain and the insurgents, which
caused varied opinion and comment. April 19 both houses of congress passed
resolutions demanding that Spain withdraw her land and naval forces from Cuba
and Cuban waters, and directing and empowering the President to use the entire
land and naval forces of the United States, and to call out the militia of the
several states to such extent as might be necessary to carry these resolutions
into effect. On April 18, the local troops of Knoxville and vicinity were in
readiness to move, both those of the First battalion and of company C,
unattached. The captains of these three companies were as follows: Company A,
Mel. Brandon: company B, W. H. Purple, and company C, W. H. Brown. Rev. John H.
Frazee was chaplain of the First battalion and Rev. M. D. Jeffries of company C.

  Battery D of the Fifth United States artillery were the first troops seen in
Knoxville after the trouble with Spain began. This was April 21, 1898, the
battery consisting of seventy-five men and being on its way to Chickamauga.
Battery F came next day, and afterward followed troops C, E, F, and G of the
Third United States cavalry. The passing of these soldiers through the city
raised the enthusiasm of the people to the highest state. April 21 came an order
for the organization of a regiment in East Tennessee, and on the same day twenty
voung men from Carson-Newman college at Mossy Creek were admitted to company C.
At this time came the news of the firing of the first gun of the war by Captain
Washburn Maynard, second son of Hon. Horace Maynard. Captain Maynard being a
Knoxville boy, born in that city in 1846, and entering the academy at Annapolis
in 1865, graduating there in 1869. He made the first capture of the war, of the
steamer Buena Ventura, with a cargo of 875,000 feet of lumber worth $10,000.

  President McKinley issued his call for volunteers April 23, 1898, for 125,000
men, to serve for two years or during the war, unless sooner discharged. On the
same day Adjutant General Sykes called out the entire national guard of the
state of Tennessee, numbering 3,800 infantry and 200 artillery. The First
battalion assembled at Pilgrim Congregational church Sunday, April 24, to listen
to a sermon from their chaplain. Rev. John H. Frazee. and on the next day
Captains Brandon and Purple were detailed as recruiting officers in order to
fill up their respective commands. Finally on April 25 war was declared against
Spain, by which the public mind was greatly relieved and satisfied that
something was to be done that would redound to the honor of the country. On the
same day an order was issued by Secretary of War Alger calling upon the several
states for troops. Tennessee being required to furnish three regiments, and
Nashville being designated as the rendezvous.

  Recruiting troops in Knoxville was an easy matter, there being more men
applying for position in the several companies organized than they could hold.
On the day of the declaration of war the two companies of the First battalion
were filled, and there were men enough over to fill another company. A Legion
Flag fund, started by Mrs. Mary Burns, was quickly raised to $87.50, and a
committee appointed to oversee the matter of the presentation of the flag, which
took place Wednesday morning, April 27. On the day previous company D from
Elizabethtown and company K from Greeneville arrived in Knoxville, a large
number coming in from Mossy Creek to join with company C. A meeting was held for
the purpose of raising money with which to purchase blankets for the boys,
$192.69 being quickly raised, and 160 men being supplied in this way. April 27
the inspection and examination of the recruits was begun in Knoxville, a corps
of physicians volunteering for the purpose, consisting of Drs. William Bowen, J.
F. Scott, John W. Carmichael, S. R. Miller and S. M. Miller. From the membership
of company C, numbering 108 men, eighteen were rejected. The requirements were
that each man must stand at least five feet four inches in height, weigh 128
pounds, have good eyes, good hearing, be temperate, have a minimum chest measure
of thirty-four inches and a minimum chest expansion of one and a half inches. On
April 28 a fund was raised quickly running up to $573.74 for the purchase of
supplies for the soldiers, and on May 3 the companies of Major Ramage's command
left Knoxville for Nashville. A war committee was selected, consisting of H. M.
Branson, Jesse L. Rogers, Peter Kern, Daniel Briscoe, W. E. Gibbins, S. N.
Littleton, N. B. Morrell, Edward Maynard and R. W. Austin, which did much and
very efficient work during the continuance of the war.

  Major Weeks, formerly Captain Weeks, of company D, which came in from
Elizabethton, arrived in Knoxville May 12 to take charge of the recruiting and
to raise if possible 100 men, as so many of those who had enlisted at first
failed to pass the examination. The three companies that left Knoxville as above
related became companies A, B and C of the Third Tennessee, and before the
examination occurred this regiment contained 1,134 men. On the 17th of the month
Major Weeks sent forward to Nashville fifty-three men, forty-seven others being
sent from other portions of East Tennessee. Dr. William Bowen was appointed
surgeon of this regiment, with Drs. G. C. Givens of Harriman and G. Manning
Ellis of Chattanooga as assistant surgeons. This regiment was the first in the
Southern States mustered into the service of the United States for the war. The
regiment reached Chickamauga Park May 24th, 1898. The field and staff officers
were J. P. Fyffe, of Chattanooga, colonel: D. M. Coffman, of Rockwood.
lieutenant colonel; W. H. Brown and E. C. Ramage, of Knoxville, and Weeks, of
Elizabethton, majors; E. A. Turner. Chattanooga, adjutant: Hart Reeves, of
Huntsville, quartermaster; Rev. J. C. Wright, of Harriman, chaplain, and Dr.
William Bowen, of Knoxville, major surgeon. The number of men in the regiment at
that time was 1,005. Together with the First Vermont and Eighth New York, it was
assigned to the Third brigade of the First division of the Third army corps.
When the regiment was ready to be mustered it was found there were too many
companies, and company E, recruited by Capt. S. E. Beyland, was disbanded, the
men being assigned to fill out the quota of other companies. When company G was
about to be mustered it was found one man short, when Beyland quietly took off
his shoulder straps and took his place in the ranks as a private soldier. The
next day he was appointed ordnance sergeant of the regiment.

  The Fourth Tennessee volunteers was mobilized at Knoxville and was the first
regiment mustered under the President's second call for volunteers in the
Spanish war. Its colonel was George Leroy Brown, a regular army officer who for
some time had been engaged as commandant of cadets at the University of
Tennessee. Harvey H. Hannah, of Oliver Springs, was lieutenant colonel and W. C.
Tatom major of the Second battalion. Rev. R. N. Price, of Morristown, afterwards
became chaplain. Company A was commanded by Capt. Walter M. Fitzgerald, and was
made up in Knox and adjacent counties, his lieutenants being Thos. E. Matson, of
Johnson City, and J. E. Stokely, of Jefferson county. Wm. A. Knabe, of
Knoxville, was chief musician and Wm. H. Sanders first principal. The regiment
was mustered July 13th, 1898, remained in camps here until November 28th, on
which date it left Knoxville for Cuba, sailing from Savannah December 1st,
landing at the port of Trinidad December 6th. It remained here, the regiment
being divided and battalions being on duty at different points, until March
28th, 1899, when it sailed for Savannah on April 1st. The regiment was kept in
quarantine until April 8th, and was mustered out at Savannah on the 6th day of
May, 1899. A reception was tendered the regiment at Chilhowee Park, soon after
its arrival, at which words of welcome were spoken, followed by refreshments
prepared for the occasion by Knoxville ladies.

  The Sixth U. S. volunteers, a magnificent regiment, was mobilized at
Knoxville, and was largely a Knoxville regiment. Its commander, Col. Laurence D.
Tyson, was a Knoxville man and had been a regular army officer. Andrew S. Rowan,
the lieutenant colonel, was also a regular army officer. Paul E. Divine, of
Tazewell, and Spears Whitaker, of North Carolina, were majors. Gary F. Spence
was adjutant and Horace Vandeventer quartermaster, both Knoxville men. Among the
other officers of the regiment were First Lieutenants Thos. A. Davis. Frank
Maloney. J. Baird French, George F. Milton, E. R. Carter, Frank E. Murphy, and
Second Lieutenants J. Welcker Park, Cornelius Williams and E. E. Houk, Gary F.
Spence, Horace Vandeventer, Thos. A. Davis and Frank Maloney were each
afterwards promoted to the rank of captain. A. M. Hall was promoted from
quartermaster sergeant to second lieutenant, Shirley E. Spence from sergeant
major to second lieutenant, and Alvin Barton from first sergeant company C to
second lieutenant. Frank E. Murphy was made adjutant and afterwards
quartermaster of the regiment. J. Baird French was commissioned adjutant and
held that position when the regiment was mustered out. The regiment was mustered
at Camp Wilder on the 15th day of July, 1898, by Lieutenant Vestal, of the 7th
U. S. cavalry. July 30th it was ordered to Chickamauga Park, where it became a
part of the Second brigade, first division. Third army corps. It left
Chickamauga Park October 6th, 1898, for New York and sailed from there for Porto
Rico on the 9th of October, arriving at San Juan October 15th. The regiment was
then divided and was on garrison duty at various points in the northern half of
the island, with headquarters at Arecibo. This duty was performed until February
12th, 1899, when the regiment was ordered, to Savannah to be mustered out. The
muster-out occurred at Savannah March 15th, 1899.

  Gen. John T. Wilder, on a visit to Secretary of War Alger, June 2Oth, 1898.
secured assurances that Knoxville would be made a camp site in the location of
the camps for soldiers that were not sent forward to Cuba, or while they might
be in waiting. Sites for the Fourth and Sixth regiments were selected June 22.
that for the Sixth being on what was formerly Elmwood Park, two miles east of
the city on the Park street short line, and consisting of seventy acres of land
surrounded on three sides by woodland, and about fifty yards to the eastward was
the site of the camp of the Fourth regiment, nearly south of the residence of N.
S. Woodward, seventy acres of grass land and well drained. About 5,000 acres of
land, partly covered with timber, was there available for a drill and parade
ground. A pipe line was laid to the Knoxville water works through the camp, and
there were pipes, four inches in diameter, from this main pipe through the
center of the camp with hydrants where needed. The name given to this camp was
Camp Bob Taylor, in honor of the governor of Tennessee.

  June 29, the camp of the Sixth regiment was removed to the Lonsdale addition
to- the city, near the Southern railway shops, the new camp being named Camp
Wilder, the Fourth regiment remaining at Camp Bob Taylor.

  Brigadier General J. S. Poland of the Second division of the First army corps
died at Chickamauga August 7, 1898. He was born at Princeton, Ind., October 14,
1836, and was a brave soldier of the Civil war. August 12, an armistice was
declared between Spain and the United States, and on the same day Brigadier
General McKee, accompanied by his staff officers. Major W. P. Kendall and
Captain Alexander M. Davis, arrived in Knoxville for the purpose of looking over
the ground at Camp Wilder and other places, with the view of finding a more
healthful location for his command than that at Chickamauga. He visited Fountain
City and Camp Bob Taylor, finally selecting Camp Wilder, and naming it Camp
Poland, in honor of General Poland, who had died as related above. Lincoln Park
was selected for a portion of his camp. August 23 the First Georgia regiment and
the Thirty-first Michigan were in camp near the Brookside cotton mills. August
26 the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Indiana came into this camp; August 27, the
First West Virginia; August 28, the Sixth Ohio, and the Fourteenth Minnesota
arrived; August 29, the First Pennsylvania, so that on September 1 there were in
Camp Poland the Second Ohio, the Fourteenth Minnesota, the Thirty-first
Michigan, the First Georgia, the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Indiana, the
Fourth Tennessee, the First Pennsylvania, the Sixth Ohio, and the First West
Virginia, in all nine regiments, or nearly 9.000 men in camp in the immediate
vicinity of Knoxville. All of the Second division of the First army corps were
here, besides the Fourth Tennessee.

  September 2 orders were received for mustering out the One Hundred and
Fifty-eighth Indiana and the First Pennsylvania, the former regiment leaving for
home on September 12 and the latter on the 15th. On this day arrived the Third
North Carolina colored troops and the Sixth Virginia, also colored troops,
arrived about the same time. The Fourteenth Minnesota left for home September
20. September 21 Secretary of War Alger reviewed the troops at Camp Poland, and
on the 23rd the First Georgia left for Macon, Ga.

  Brigadier General G. M. Randall arrived in Knoxville October 5 to take command
of Camp Poland. October 6 Col. Tyson's regiment, the Sixth U. S. volunteers,
passed through Knoxville on their way to New York, where they took passage on
the 9th for Porto Rico. October 19 General Randall left for Athens, Ga., being
succeeded in the command of Camp Poland by General McKee, who remained until
October 27, when Colonel Kuert of the Second Ohio became commandant of the camp.
On October 31 the board of commissioners appointed by the President to
investigate the conduct of the war, arrived in Knoxville and began the
inspection of the camps, leaving in the evening for Washington, having found the
camps in first class condition. Those who took part in this inspection were Col.
Charles Denby, Capt. E. P. Howell, ex-Governor E. P. Woodbury, Brigadier General
John M. Wilson, General James A. Beaver. Major Genera] Alexander McD. McCook,
Richard Weightman, Lieut. Col. F. B. Jones, and Major Stephen C. Mills. General
Simon Snyder took charge of Camp Poland November 5, relieving Colonel Kuert. of
the Second Ohio, which regiment left for Macon, Ga., November 15. November 20
the Sixth Ohio was armed with the Krag-Jorgensen rifles. The Third North
Carolina regiment left for Macon, Ga., November 22 and on the 30th of that month
division headquarters were removed to Macon, together with company C of the
Second Ohio. The Sixth Ohio left Camp Poland December 27, and the Thirty-first
Michigan left on Monday, January 9, 1899, for Savannah, Ga., there taking
passage for Cuba, and was the last regiment in Camp Poland to get away, thus
leaving that camp entirely vacant, and wholly a matter of history.

  Lieutenant-colonel Andrew S. Rowan of the Sixth United States Volunteers, Col.
Tyson's regiment, joined his regiment in Porto Rico about the 20th of December,
1898, having previously been on detached duty.

  The Division hospital, established early in the existence of Camp Poland, at
Turner Park, was maintained until about February 10, 1899. It was of great
benefit to the soldiers in the camp, an absolute necessity. Fifty of the sick
soldiers in the camp were on November 21, 1898, taken to Fort Meyer, near
Washington, D. C., the intention being then to discontinue the hospital as soon
as possible. The number of deaths in this hospital between September 8, 1898,
and January 17, 1899, so far as could be ascertained, was fifty-six, of whom
there were twelve, six white and six colored soldiers, whose names do not appear
on any record. Besides these there were two others, not enlisted men, that died,
and one nurse. Sister Mary Elizabeth Flanagan, who belonged at Mt. Washington.
Mo. On February 1, 1899, there were left but few patients in the hospital, all
rapidly convalescing. Upon the closing of the hospital Major Kendall, surgeon in
charge, reported to Macon. Ga., and Lieutenant King reported to his regiment in
Cuba. The property was sold at public auction February 15. 1899.

  By the 16th of January, 1899, it was known that the Third Tennessee was to be
mustered out of the service, and preparations began to be made for giving the
members thereof that belonged to Knoxville and vicinity a warm and appropriate
reception. On the morning of the next day the committee appointed to make
arrangements for such a reception, consisting of J. E. Chapman, W. R. Cooper, W.
E. Gibbins, C. C. Howell and Rev. John H. Frazee met in A. J. Albers' office and
extended an invitation to the Daughters of the Revolution, Daughters of the
Confederacy, Woman's Relief Corps and the Girls' Relief society to assist in
preparing the reception and the banquet. The committee held meetings on the 19th
and on the 20th, at the latter meeting deciding that every returning soldier
should be presented with a badge, the badges to be procured and printed under
the supervision of Dr. Frazee. All necessary committees were selected, the
reception committee being composed of F. K. Huger, James Maynard, Peter Kern,
Frank A. Moses, E. W. Crozier, S. G. Heiskell, J. W. S. Frierson, Gen. J. T.
Wilder, Will D. Wright, Judge O. P. Temple and Dr. Charles W. Dabney. The
mustering out of the regiment began at Anniston, Ala., January 30, and in the
evening most of the men in companies A, D and F reached Knoxville, companies A
and F being made up mostly of Knoxville Legion men, company D being from
Elizabethton.

  The reception took place Friday evening at 7:30 o'clock, in Market Hall,
nearly 200 members of the regiment being present who belonged to Knox county.
Lieutenant-Colonel D. M. Coffman and Chaplain J. C. Wright were also present,
and notwithstanding a heavy rain was falling the hall was well filled. Music was
furnished by Legion band and addresses were made by Major William Rule, Captain
H. H. Taylor, Mrs. Charles A. Perkins, Hon. J. W. Caldwell, Lieut. Col. Coffman
and others. The supper prepared by the ladies was well served, and taken all in
all few if any happier events have occurred in Knoxville, it being an honor to
the returning Third Tennessee and to all taking part in its preparation and
conduct.


Additional Comments:
From:

STANDARD HISTORY
OF
KNOXVILLE TENNESSEE

WITH FULL OUTLINE OF THE NATURAL ADVANTAGES, EARLY SETTLEMENT, TERRITORIAL
GOVERNMENT, INDIAN TROUBLES, AND GENERAL AND PARTICULAR HISTORY OF THE CITY DOWN
TO THE PRESENT TIME

EDITED BY
WILLIAM RULE
GEORGE F. MELLEN, PH. D., AND J. WOOLDRIDGE COLLABORATORS

PUBLISHED BY
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO 1900


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