Knoxville Civil War RoundTable

CIVIL WAR KNOXVILLE: A Driving Tour

By Dorothy E. Kelly, Knoxville Civil War Roundtable

Copyright 1997 by Dorothy E. Kelly. All rights reserved.

In September 1863, Confederates under Gen. Braxton Bragg, with the aid of Gen. James Longstreet and the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, won a smashing victory at Chickamauga. The Confederates succeeded in driving the Federals under Gen. William S. Rosecrans back into Chattanooga. In spite of the urging of subordinates, Bragg chose to besiege the Federals rather than attack the city. While the Federal Army gained strength, Bragg split his army, sending Gen. Longstreet and his Corps to Knoxville to capture or drive out the Federal Army of the Ohio under Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside.

Delays in securing supplies for the campaign and the stubborn resistance of Burnside's troops slowed Longstreet's advance and forced a battle at Campbell's Station, 16 miles west of Knoxville, where Burnside successfully held off the Confederates on November 16. From Campbell's Station, the Federals hurriedly withdrew to Knoxville.

KNOXVILLE CIVIL WAR SITES Map by R. Daniel Proctor (138K)

From I-40, take the US Highway 129 / Airport exit (Exit 187-B) to Kingston Pike.
Turn right to 3148 Kingston Pike, Confederate Memorial Hall.

This antebellum home was headquarters to both Gen. Longstreet and Gen. Lafayette McLaws during the siege of Knoxville and the battle of Fort Sanders. Cannon at times were fired from the lawn; the tower was used by sharpshooters firing on Fort Sanders 2500 yards to the northeast. At the foot of the garden, the enterprising Confederates constructed a flatboat and telegraph wire ferry to move cannon to the south side of the river. Gen. Longstreet directed the battle of Fort Sanders from this house, which is now a museum owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

Turn right and proceed back along Kingston Pike, following the route of Longstreet's advance on Knoxville.
Stop at the Second Presbyterian Church, on your left at 2829 Kingston Pike.

On November 17th, the Federals retreated to Knoxville, only to find the earthwork defenses barely begun. In order to make the city defensible, time was needed to construct gun emplacements and rifle pits. This prominent hill was chosen as the defensive position from which to stall the advancing Confederates. The responsibility of fending off the Confederates was given to 30-year-old cavalry Gen. William P. Sanders, a southerner and West Point graduate who chose to remain with the Union. With only 700 troops protected by fence-rail breastworks, Sanders held the line commanding the Kingston Road for over 24 hours. In the last minutes of the fight, Sanders was mortally wounded. He died the next day in Knoxville and was buried at the 2nd Presbyterian Church on Market Street. Ironically, the Second Presbyterian Church moved to this site in 1956.

Turn left onto Kingston Pike.
On your right, at 2728 Kingston Pike, is Crescent Bend.

Crescent Bend was headquarters for Confederate General Joseph B. Kershaw during the siege.

Kingston Pike becomes Cumberland Avenue just before you reach the Campus of the University of Tennessee (East Tennessee University at the time of the War). The brick buildings of the University were used by both sides as hospitals, and Fort Byington was built around them by the Federals.

Travel to Henley Street (US Highway 441) and turn right.

Notice the prominent hills as you cross the bridge. The hill to your left was the site of Fort Stanley, the one to the right, Fort Dickerson.

Follow the highway to Fort Dickerson Road (on your right); make a right turn onto this road, and follow it to its end.

At the end of the road is Fort Dickerson, one of 16 forts which protected Knoxville. Constructed by the Federals during the winter of 1863-64, it was named for Lt. Jonathan Dickerson, killed during the Knoxville Campaign.

During Gen. James Longstreet's advance on Knoxville in November 1863, Gen. Joe Wheeler led a cavalry force of approximately 4,000 troopers against the heights here. Upon discovering that the heights were strongly held by infantry and artillery as well as cavalry, the Confederates threw a few shots into the fort and retreated.

After viewing the fort, walk to the river side of the hill to see the view of Knoxville. Had the Confederates been able to take this fort, the whole city of Knoxville would have been in cannon range and the Federals would have been forced to evacuate the city.

Turn left from Fort Dickerson Road, then follow US Highway 441 to Blount Avenue. Turn right. Turn left at the second traffic light onto Gay Street.

On the left, at 803 S. Gay Street, is the building which was the Lamar House (currently the Bijou Theater). Built in 1817, it had long been Knoxville's leading hotel. It was here that Gen. William P. Sanders died on November 19, the only general to be killed in the Knoxville Campaign. Other prominent guests included Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate Gen. Joe Johnston.

Along this street in the early days of the war, Union recruiters exhorted prospects under the Federal flag while Confederate recruiters cajoled under the Confederate flag only two blocks away.

Proceed to Summit Hill Drive and turn right.

You are now following the Federal defense line. At the bottom of the hill is First Creek (now underground) which, along with Second Creek to the west, was dammed by the Federals, creating large ponds in front of their lines. These 3-5 foot deep obstacles deterred the Confederates from attacking this portion of the line.

Continue up Summit Hill Drive (changes to Dandridge Avenue).

The Mabry-Hazen House and Museum is on the left near the top of the hill. Joseph A. Mabry, Jr. outfitted an entire Confederate company recruited in Knoxville, which was named the "Mabry Grays" in his honor.

At the top of the hill, pull into the parking lot of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church on the left.

Note the view from the back of the lot. During the siege of Knoxville, the Confederates considered an attack across the valley in your front. In places two miles wide, the march under fire would have been longer than Pickett's charge at Gettysburg. The plan was discarded. This was the northernmost extension of the Federal line.

Exit the parking lot and turn left, traveling one block to Surrey Street. Turn left to Bethel Avenue. Turn left and go one block to the Confederate Cemetery on your right.

The centerpiece of this park-like cemetery is the impressive 48-foot high monument -- composed of a granite base 12 feet square and 42 feet tall that is surmounted by a statue of a Confederate soldier facing north. This cemetery was begun in 1862, to inter soldiers who died from disease. The park contains the bodies of 1,600 Confederates and 50-60 Union prisoners of war.

Confederate Cemetery, which is owned and administered by the Mabry-Hazen Foundation, is open by appointment only. Address inquiries to the Mabry-Hazen House, (423)522-8661.

Turn right at the next street, go one block and turn left. Proceed to the first traffic light and turn right.

You will retrace part of your route along the Federal lines to Gay Street.

Turn right on Gay Street and immediately turn left on West Vine.

At the top of this hill is the historical marker for Battery Wiltsie. To your right is the railroad and the sites of the East Tennessee & Georgia and the East Tennessee & Virginia Depots and workshops. An attack by the Confederates on this area was thwarted by the firing of the railroad buildings and the explosions of ammunition stored there. Further along this street was Fort Comstock, which was begun by the Confederates and finished by the Federals.

Travel around the next block (one way streets) and turn right, then right onto Summit Hill Drive.

One block on your right, will be a prominent red-brick building. Built ca. 1848, it was originally known and used as the Deaf and Dumb Asylum; during the Civil War, when it was used as a military hospital by both the Confederate and Union armies, it was known as Asylum Hospital. It later became Knoxville's City Hall.

Turn right on Henley Street (US Highway 441 - becomes Broadway) and proceed to Tyson Street, then turn left.

The National Cemetery is on the left. Begun in 1863, it contains casualties from the battle of Fort Sanders and the East Tennessee Campaign. Also buried here is Union Gen. Joseph Cooper. Old Gray Cemetery is adjacent to the National Cemetery. During the Civil War it was the burying place of prominent Knoxvillians, including Gen. William Caswell, and Unionists William "Parson" Brownlow and Senator Horace Maynard.

Retrace your route right on Tyson to Broadway (US Highway 441 - becomes Henley Street). Turn right and travel to Cumberland Avenue, turn right, and turn right again on 16th Street.

At the end of the second block on the right is a large monument dedicated to the 79th New York Highlanders, part of the force defending Fort Sanders.

Turn left on Clinch Avenue, turn right onto 17th Street at the stop sign, and proceed to the First Tennessee Bank parking lot on the left.

Plan of Fort Sanders

Note the United Daughters of the Confederacy monument. This is the site of the northwest bastion of Fort Sanders. Here, on November 29, 1863, Confederate Gen. James Longstreet launched an attack with 4,000 of the Army of Northern Virginia's finest troops. In the cold air of dawn, the Confederates charged up this hill, and passed through the abatis with little difficulty. An invisible entanglement of telegraph wire strung from stump to stump slowed the momentum somewhat as the men tripped, some falling headlong into the ditch surrounding the fort.

BATTLE OF FORT SANDERS Artist unknown (61K)

Here in the ditch the attack stalled. The ditch surrounding the fort proved to be unusually deep and the parapet unusually steep. The Confederates found themselves facing an almost perpendicular 20-foot high icy wall. From inside the fort, the fire into the ditch was devastating. The Federal artillerists shortened the fuses on their shells and dropped them into the ditch, taking a terrible toll. Unable to move forward up the steep icy sides of the Fort and unable to retreat under the galling fire, the Confederates could do nothing but surrender. In only 20 minutes, Longstreet lost over 800 men, Burnside only 13.

Only hours after the attack on Fort Sanders, Longstreet learned of Bragg's defeat at Chattanooga. For five more days he held his position around Knoxville, but was forced to retreat northward at the approach of a 25,000 man relief column under Union Gen. William T. Sherman. The 17-day siege of Knoxville had reduced Burnside's Army to quarter rations, but had failed in its objective of capturing the city. Longstreet lingered in upper East Tennessee, hoping for a chance to return and take Knoxville. Hampered by record cold and inadequate supplies, the chance never materialized.

In the spring of 1864, Longstreet and his Corps were recalled to Virginia, removing the last serious threat to Federal control of East Tennessee.

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