Category Archives: Siege of Knoxville

Wig Wag flags at Fort Sanders

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Dick Stanley

Artillery supported the 13th Regiment’s charge against Fort Sanders at Knoxville in the ice and snow of winter, 1863. The big guns were spread out so far around the southern curve of the battlefield that their commander had to use … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Chickamauga, Battles: Fort Sanders, Gen. James Longstreet, Siege of Knoxville, The Minute Men of Attala | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Bragg: The man who knew no fear

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Dick Stanley

It’s safe to say that the 13th Regiment’s most reviled time of the whole war was when they served under Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg in Tennessee. Bragg was a small man. His chief, post-war published critic Sam Watkins said it … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Chickamauga, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. William Barksdale, Siege of Knoxville | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Reward for the capture of a deserter

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Dick Stanley

According to independent historian Jess McLean, a Mississippi newspaper ran a notice in late June, 1864, that was signed by Captain William F. Brown, company commander of the Pettus Guards. The headline: $30,000 REWARD [presumably Confederate money] and the text: “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Correspondence, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville, The Pettus Guards | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

General McLaws’ court martial

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Although convened in February, 1864, McLaws’ court martial for dereliction of duty in the assault on Fort Sanders at Knoxville, was on-again, off-again, for the next several weeks. Finally, on March 11, the trial commenced at a private home in … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Withdrawal: Miles of fence on fire

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Dick Stanley

After the failed first-light attack on Fort Sanders, General Burnside offered his old West Point classmate General Longstreet a flag of truce. “The morning being very cold and frosty, and the enemy’s wounded in our ditch and in front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville, The Commanders, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Battle of Fort Sanders

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Dick Stanley

By Nov. 28, 1863, the siege of Knoxville was entering its second week. Longstreet, who had been dithering on the question of where best to attack the Union defenses, had finally settled on one—the red-dirt Fort Sanders (above, looking west) … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Confederate Veteran Magazine, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Jess N. McLean, Nimrod Newton Nash, Siege of Knoxville, The Battle Flags, The Lauderdale Zouaves, The Minute Men of Attala, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The siege of Knoxville

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Dick Stanley

“The enemy is in full retreat,” Spartan Band diarist William H. Hill recorded on Monday evening, Nov. 16, 1863. “The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded [at Campbell’s Station] was large, our loss was small.” Indeed, “[m]any of … Continue reading →

Posted in Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville, The Minute Men of Attala, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The fight at Campbell’s Station

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Dick Stanley

General Burnside’s federal army was retreating to Knoxville. Pursuing them, after crossing the Tennessee River on Nov. 15, General Longstreet divided his two divisions. He accompanied Hood’s Division along the Hotchkiss Valley Road to Lenoir City and sent McLaws’ Division … Continue reading →

Posted in Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville, The Spartan Band, The Winston Guards, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , | Leave a comment