The Civil War in Knoxville
The Battle of Fort Sanders
November 29, 1863
The McClung Museum’s newest permanent exhibit opened in August 2007. Located on the second floor, it begins with an overview of the national political situation in the fall of 1863 and then focuses on the pivotal role of East Tennessee. Abraham Lincoln’s interest in the area is embodied in a walking stick carved for him by a veteran of the Battle of Lookout Mountain out of wood from the battle site. Original 1863 copies of Harper’s Weekly and the New York Herald demonstrate how events in East Tennessee commanded front page coverage. Original artifacts, both family heirlooms and archaeologically excavated items, illustrate key elements of this historically significant time and place.
Military artifacts comprise a large part of the exhibit, however, the then newly developed technique of photographic portraiture allows us a glimpse into the personalities of the many individuals, military and civilian, who posed for the camera and whose 1863 likenesses survive. One such portrait is that of John Watkins, an artillerist from Ohio, who was inside the fort when the attack occurred. His letters home document the bloody horror from his own unique perspective, and his hat, jacket and telescope substantiate the life of a simple man caught up in historic events. A drum found in Longstreet’s camp and Frank H. McClung’s authentic pardon signed by fellow Tennessean, President Andrew Johnson illustrates the range of material items that can survive to define an epoch.
Captain Orlando Poe, General Burnside’s chief engineer, designed and executed the construction of the fortifications and also oversaw detailed documentation of the Knoxville area. His 1864 map of the defenses has been digitized and enlarged to 4’ by 5’. Detailed topographical information, extremely accurate even by today’s standards, is reproduced in 3-D format. Features and locations discussed in the text can be found and illuminated on the map.
Above the display cases are enlargements of panoramas taken by George Barnard, a well-known Civil War photographer. In March of 1864, Captain Poe, an early advocate of photography as a documentary tool, supervised a complete panoramic survey of the Knoxville area making it one of the most thoroughly recorded sites of the Civil War.
As a part of this exhibit we proudly display an original painting created by Annapolis artist Greg Harlin. Two years of research went into assembling all the historical sources possible—illustrations, photos, original letters and diaries, older paintings, and military diagrams--to ensure the accuracy of this work of art. The result is a hauntingly powerful rendering of fire and ice, the first light attack and slaughter that came to be known as the Battle of Fort Sanders.
Because the story is so big and our display space limited, we went to Knoxville film producer Steve Dean to help us expand our story-telling capabilities. His response is a 28-minute video entitled “Its Memory Alone Remains” which narrates the unique experience of East Tennessee during the Civil War. Steve’s enthusiasm for the project was so great he actually assembled the resources to construct a full-size reproduction of the long gone Fort Sanders in a cow pasture in east Knox County. What began as a ‘film prop’ expected to be plowed back under after a week of shooting, has captured the imagination of historians, military scholars and Civil War buffs alike. In fact it has been expanded and stabilized and will be used for reenactments, living history and educational purposes.
“Its Memory Alone Remains”, the title taken from an 1890’s Blue and Gray Reunion medal, employs live-action, animation, dramatization, and historic documentation enhanced by unique contemporary footage acquired by flying low over Knoxville in a helicopter. This bird’s eye view allowed Steve to create an amazing film ‘morph’ from present day to 1900 then 1864 and back again. The video will be shown free of charge on request at the Museum and can be purchased for $20 in the Museum Shop.
The Excavations at Morgan Hill
From a high-rise building across the street, this is the archaeological excavation in progress on Morgan Hill in the summer of 2009.
In the summer of 2009 the Archaeological Research Laboratory of the University of Tennessee conducted an excavation of the main 1863 Confederate artillery installation, located west of Knoxville, at Morgan Hill. The 'Battle of Fort Sanders' exhibit was fortunate to receive the artifacts retrieved from the work done at the only scientifically studied artillery position, Union or Confederate, from the siege of Knoxville. Minie balls, pottery, belt buckles, friction primers and other significant items are on display.
Despite the fact that the troops manning this position were here for only 10 days 150 years ago, the artifacts they left behind identify them as soldiers from Georgia and South Carolina. The exhibit also features images of the excavation in progress and a fine painting by artist Ken Smith recreating the scene on the morning of November 29, 1863 when the Union fortifications were pounded by artillery from Confederate positions to the west and north of town announcing the deadly assault commencing 'at first light'.