KNOXVILLE, Siege of. On 3 Nov. 1863, before the battle of Chattanooga (q.v.), General Bragg sent General Longstreet to capture or destroy the Union army under General Burnside at Knoxville. The next day Longstreet moved from Tyner's Station with the divisions of McLaws and Hood, two artillery battalions and Wheeler's cavalry, and on 14 November crossed the Tennessee near Loudon. After the engage ment at Campbell's Station (q v.), Burnside re sumed his march, reaching Knoxville on the morning of 17 November, Longstreet closely following and laying siege to the town. The town had been thoroughly fortified, the line of defense extending from the Holston River on the left, a double line of works fronting west, a strong work called Fort Sanders on the northwest salient and a line from that point across the railroad and again to the right as far as the river. On the south side of the river were some detached works connected with the town by a pontoon bridge. On the night of 16 November communication with Cumberland Gap was cut and by the night of the 18th the siege was well established. Long street believed he could starve out Burnside and compel his surrender but Grant's success at Chattanooga rendered Longstreet's position critical, wherefore he resolved to carry the works by assault. On the night of 28 Novem ber he advanced his sharpshooters to within rifle range of the Union defenses and prepared a column to attack Fort Sanders. Early the next morning the assaulting party of three brigades approached unharmed to within 100 yards of the fort. At dawn Longstreet opened a furious artillery fire and a half hour later his columns charged the fort. The Union troops had placed in front of the fort an abatis and entanglements of wire, on reaching which the forward Confederates became con fused, but the heavy mass behind them pushed resolutely onward and some gained the ditch and the parapet. The Union guns then opened
up with triple charges of canister and the in fantry shot down the defenseless Confederates in the ditch, which soon was piled high with dead and wounded. After a long fight Long street withdrew with a loss of 1,000 killed, wounded and prisoners, while Burnside lost only 13 killed and wounded. Meanwhile Sher man had been sent from Chattanooga with re inforcements for Burnside and as Sherman's advance prevented his junction with Bragg, Longstreet on the night of 4 December passed around the north side of Knoxville and took up his line of march to Holston, Sherman reaching Knoxville the same day. A force was sent after Longstreet but it proved inadquate to cope with him and accordingly he moved without hindrance to the south side of the Holston where during the winter he con tinned to harass the Union troops in Tennessee, in the spring joining Lee for the campaign of 1864. Meanwhile at his own request Burnside was relieved from duty and on 11 December the command was formally transferred to Gen. J. G. Foster. Sherman left a part of his troops at Knoxville and returned with the rest to Chattanooga. Consult 'Battles and Leaders of the Civil War' (Vol. III, pp. 731-752, New York 1888) ; Cist, H. M., 'The Army of the Cumberland) (pp. 256-258, New York 1882) ; Cox, Jacob D., 'Atlanta' (pp. 9-16, New York 1882) ; Evans, C. A. (ed.), 'Confederate Mili tary History' (Vol. VI, pp. 264-267; Vol. VII, pp. 174-176; Vol. VIII, pp. 123-124, Atlanta 1899); Nicolay, J. G., and Hay, John, 'Life of Lincohi) (Vol. 'VIII, pp. 155-188, New York 1886-96) ; Woodbury, A., 'Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps' (pp. 327-351, Providence 1867).