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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 12/3/13 at 8:33 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 12/3/13 at 8:33 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 4 December 1863
General James Longstreet and his corps had been detached from the Army of Northern Virginia and send West in a desperate move to shore up the defenses of Confederate Tennessee. It had been a valiant effort, but in the end it had been too little, too late. Their last assault had been on the ramparts of Fort Sanders at Knoxville, which they had taken but could not hold. With General Hiram U. Grant having ordered reinforcements on the way, Longstreet was now contemplating establishing winter quarters farther east and north, at a place called Greeneville. This was, in terms of travel time, about equidistant from potential battle sites in the west or in Virginia, enabling the force to be shifted to whichever area needed them most.
General Longstreet began to raise the siege of Knoxville, falling back to Morristown, Tennessee, in consequence of the approach of heavy reinforcements to General Ambrose Burnside, under General Granger, as well as the defeats around Chattanooga. General William T. Sherman was headed toward Knoxville with upwards of 30,000 fresh troops. "The whole army will move direct on the enemy at Knoxville and fight them at the earliest moment," ordered Sherman to his corps commanders. Each wing was given specific roads to use and cautioned to be timely. Food had become a problem for Sherman's men. Immediately following the Battle of Chattanooga, they were on their feet and in pursuit of the enemy. They had but two days of rations, a blanket and an overcoat. Now, over a week later, very little sustenance had caught up with them. In his orders, Sherman wished for each man to have not only all his ammunition on his person with a caution to "use it with great prudence", but also that each have three days' cooked rations. For many, this was impossible, but their dear commander remembered them as well: "If rations are not to be had, the men will cheerfully live on meal till their fellows in Knoxville are released from their imprisonment." They were, after all, on a mission. Sherman was well aware of the shortage of food, and was doing everything he could to sustain his troops. To a division commander in the Fourth Corps, Sherman urged him to "use every effort to procure corn and wheat, and to grind all you possibly can." The three small mills that his army had commandeered were hardly sufficient.
Though Longstreet was by this time in flight, Sherman was convinced otherwise. He had captured letters that indicated as such. "Longstreet is yet at Knoxville," agreed one of the army's Inspector Generals. "He assaulted Burnside on Sunday and was badly whipped…. Longstreet is evidently badly puzzled." Of course, Longstreet wasn't puzzled at all. He was simply aware that Sherman's columns were coming and knew he was outnumbered. Bridging the river, however, was no easy task. For all Sherman and his men knew, time was of the essence. The river had been up when the Fifteenth Corps tried to cross it at Morganton. With water as deep as five feet, the General concluded that while the cavalry might be able to cross, the men and artillery could not. And so fording the river was out, and a bridge was indispensable. Sherman was without an engineer, but "we had our pioneers, but only such tools as axes, picks, and spades. But General Wilson, working part with crib-work and part with square trestles, made of the houses of the late town of Morganton, progress apace, and by dark of December 4, troops and animals passed on the bridge…." If Morganton could not yield to Sherman a ford, he would build a bridge out of it. All through the day in Knoxville, it seemed as if Longstreet's presence remained. The skirmishers and pickets were even more active than usual on this date. There were some signs of the Rebels' retreat, such as a line of wagons spotted moving toward the northeast, but even after a quick probe by Burnside's infantry, the Confederate line seemed sound enough. After darkness, Longstreet began to move in earnest. By 2200 hours, the campfires were dimming or flickering out. It would be the next morning until anyone was certain, but the Confederates had just made good their escape.
General James Longstreet and his corps had been detached from the Army of Northern Virginia and send West in a desperate move to shore up the defenses of Confederate Tennessee. It had been a valiant effort, but in the end it had been too little, too late. Their last assault had been on the ramparts of Fort Sanders at Knoxville, which they had taken but could not hold. With General Hiram U. Grant having ordered reinforcements on the way, Longstreet was now contemplating establishing winter quarters farther east and north, at a place called Greeneville. This was, in terms of travel time, about equidistant from potential battle sites in the west or in Virginia, enabling the force to be shifted to whichever area needed them most.
General Longstreet began to raise the siege of Knoxville, falling back to Morristown, Tennessee, in consequence of the approach of heavy reinforcements to General Ambrose Burnside, under General Granger, as well as the defeats around Chattanooga. General William T. Sherman was headed toward Knoxville with upwards of 30,000 fresh troops. "The whole army will move direct on the enemy at Knoxville and fight them at the earliest moment," ordered Sherman to his corps commanders. Each wing was given specific roads to use and cautioned to be timely. Food had become a problem for Sherman's men. Immediately following the Battle of Chattanooga, they were on their feet and in pursuit of the enemy. They had but two days of rations, a blanket and an overcoat. Now, over a week later, very little sustenance had caught up with them. In his orders, Sherman wished for each man to have not only all his ammunition on his person with a caution to "use it with great prudence", but also that each have three days' cooked rations. For many, this was impossible, but their dear commander remembered them as well: "If rations are not to be had, the men will cheerfully live on meal till their fellows in Knoxville are released from their imprisonment." They were, after all, on a mission. Sherman was well aware of the shortage of food, and was doing everything he could to sustain his troops. To a division commander in the Fourth Corps, Sherman urged him to "use every effort to procure corn and wheat, and to grind all you possibly can." The three small mills that his army had commandeered were hardly sufficient.
Though Longstreet was by this time in flight, Sherman was convinced otherwise. He had captured letters that indicated as such. "Longstreet is yet at Knoxville," agreed one of the army's Inspector Generals. "He assaulted Burnside on Sunday and was badly whipped…. Longstreet is evidently badly puzzled." Of course, Longstreet wasn't puzzled at all. He was simply aware that Sherman's columns were coming and knew he was outnumbered. Bridging the river, however, was no easy task. For all Sherman and his men knew, time was of the essence. The river had been up when the Fifteenth Corps tried to cross it at Morganton. With water as deep as five feet, the General concluded that while the cavalry might be able to cross, the men and artillery could not. And so fording the river was out, and a bridge was indispensable. Sherman was without an engineer, but "we had our pioneers, but only such tools as axes, picks, and spades. But General Wilson, working part with crib-work and part with square trestles, made of the houses of the late town of Morganton, progress apace, and by dark of December 4, troops and animals passed on the bridge…." If Morganton could not yield to Sherman a ford, he would build a bridge out of it. All through the day in Knoxville, it seemed as if Longstreet's presence remained. The skirmishers and pickets were even more active than usual on this date. There were some signs of the Rebels' retreat, such as a line of wagons spotted moving toward the northeast, but even after a quick probe by Burnside's infantry, the Confederate line seemed sound enough. After darkness, Longstreet began to move in earnest. By 2200 hours, the campfires were dimming or flickering out. It would be the next morning until anyone was certain, but the Confederates had just made good their escape.
This post was edited on 12/4/13 at 5:05 am
1
Posted on 12/4/13 at 8:57 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 5 December 1863
It was a day of considerable activity for this late in the year, but each individual action was small and more or less incidental to armies being on the move. In Tennessee, it was the Corps of James Longstreet marching away from Knoxville and toward planned winter quarters in Greeneville, Tennessee. This led to skirmishes around the Clinch River, particularly at Walker's Ford. Other unpleasantness occurred at Raccoon Ford, Virginia, and Crab Gap, Tennessee. Far to the east, another misfortune befell the U.S. Navy at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. A party sent ashore in a small boat from the USS Perry was set upon and captured. An almost identical incident had befallen a party from the USS T. A. Ward a few days earlier.
A boat crew under Acting Ensign William B. Arrants from the USS Perry was captured while reconnoitering Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina , to determine if a ship being outfitted there as a blockade runner could be destroyed. Noting that a boat crew from T.A. Ward had been captured in the same area 2 months before, Rear Admiral Dahlgren wrote: "These blunders are very annoying, and yet I do not like to discourage enterprise and dash on the part of our officers and men. Better to suffer from the excess than the deficiencies of these qualities."
Major General R. C. Schenck relinquished the command of the Middle Department, and was succeeded by Brigadier General Henry Hayes Lockwood.
Stephen D. Lee, Major General in the Confederate service, sent the following report from his headquarters, at Holly Springs, Mississippi, to General Joseph E. Johnston: "Chased enemy's cavalry, eight hundred strong, from Ripley into Pocahontas, on the first. The enemy concentrated at Pocahontas, and evacuated Salisbury on the second. Two miles of railroad destroyed at Salisbury. Forrest passed safely over. Routed and drove across into Wolf River, at Moscow, two regiments of the enemy's cavalry, killing, wounding, and drowning about one hundred and seventy-five, capturing forty prisoners, and forty horses, and killing about one hundred horses."
A body of Confederate cavalry, with a few pieces of artillery, crossed the Rapidan River, and made a demonstration in front of the Federal lines. After a brief skirmish, it was discovered that the Rebels wished to reestablish signal stations on three peaks overlooking that section of country occupied by the Union army. This was successfully accomplished, and quiet restored.
A train, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, was attacked by a party of partisan guerrillas, at a point two miles east of Bealeton Station.
Georgetown, South Carolina, was destroyed by fire this night.
It was a day of considerable activity for this late in the year, but each individual action was small and more or less incidental to armies being on the move. In Tennessee, it was the Corps of James Longstreet marching away from Knoxville and toward planned winter quarters in Greeneville, Tennessee. This led to skirmishes around the Clinch River, particularly at Walker's Ford. Other unpleasantness occurred at Raccoon Ford, Virginia, and Crab Gap, Tennessee. Far to the east, another misfortune befell the U.S. Navy at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. A party sent ashore in a small boat from the USS Perry was set upon and captured. An almost identical incident had befallen a party from the USS T. A. Ward a few days earlier.
A boat crew under Acting Ensign William B. Arrants from the USS Perry was captured while reconnoitering Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina , to determine if a ship being outfitted there as a blockade runner could be destroyed. Noting that a boat crew from T.A. Ward had been captured in the same area 2 months before, Rear Admiral Dahlgren wrote: "These blunders are very annoying, and yet I do not like to discourage enterprise and dash on the part of our officers and men. Better to suffer from the excess than the deficiencies of these qualities."
Major General R. C. Schenck relinquished the command of the Middle Department, and was succeeded by Brigadier General Henry Hayes Lockwood.
Stephen D. Lee, Major General in the Confederate service, sent the following report from his headquarters, at Holly Springs, Mississippi, to General Joseph E. Johnston: "Chased enemy's cavalry, eight hundred strong, from Ripley into Pocahontas, on the first. The enemy concentrated at Pocahontas, and evacuated Salisbury on the second. Two miles of railroad destroyed at Salisbury. Forrest passed safely over. Routed and drove across into Wolf River, at Moscow, two regiments of the enemy's cavalry, killing, wounding, and drowning about one hundred and seventy-five, capturing forty prisoners, and forty horses, and killing about one hundred horses."
A body of Confederate cavalry, with a few pieces of artillery, crossed the Rapidan River, and made a demonstration in front of the Federal lines. After a brief skirmish, it was discovered that the Rebels wished to reestablish signal stations on three peaks overlooking that section of country occupied by the Union army. This was successfully accomplished, and quiet restored.
A train, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, was attacked by a party of partisan guerrillas, at a point two miles east of Bealeton Station.
Georgetown, South Carolina, was destroyed by fire this night.
This post was edited on 12/5/13 at 4:43 am
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