[McClung Museum] [Smaller Exhibits]

        [Red-Black Rule]

        THE CIVIL WAR IN KNOXVILLE

        The McClung Museum's collection of original clothing, weapons, and accoutrements illustrate the actions of Union and Confederate soldiers as they vied for the occupation of Knoxville during the Civil War.

        [Flags]
          [Red Ball]   Historical Overview   [Flags]
          [Red Ball]   John Watkins Collection  
          [Red Ball]   Selected Web Resources  
        [Blue Rule]

        [Box]  HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

        [This summarized account of the Siege of Knoxville is courtesy of Dorothy E. Kelly, Knoxville Civil War Roundtable.]

        In September 1863, Confederates under General Braxton Bragg, with the aid of General 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 General William S. Rosecrans back into Chattanooga. In spite of the urging of his subordinates, Bragg chose to besiege the Federals rather than attack the city. While the Federal Army gained strength, Bragg split his army, sending General Longstreet and his Corps to Knoxville, to capture or drive out the Federal Army of the Ohio under General 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 16 November 1863. From Campbell's Station, the Federals hurriedly withdrew to Knoxville.

        [Belt Buckle] UNION ARMY BELT BUCKLE.
        (40K)

        Brass.

        On 29 November 1863, at Fort Sanders, an earthworks bastion atop a hill west of Knoxville, Confederate General 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.

        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.

        [Drum] CONFEDERATE DRUM.
        (73K)

        This Confederate drum was used by a member of General Longstreet's command during the Siege of Knoxville. It was found in a camp near Blaine, Tennessee, in December 1863.

        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 General William T. Sherman. The 17-day Siege of Knoxville (17 November-4 December 1863) 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.

        [Hood] WINTER HOOD.
        (65K)

        Knitted multi-colored yarn.
        This winter hood was worn by Major John T. Gilmore, a surgeon with General Longstreet's troops and a member of General Kershaw's staff, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

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

        [Blue Rule]

        [Box]  JOHN WATKINS COLLECTION

        John Watkins was born in Cleveland, Ohio, of English parents from Hereford, England. A Union soldier during the American Civil War, he served in the 19th Battery, Ohio Light Artillery, from Cleveland. During the Knoxville Campaign (August 1863 to January 1864), the 19th Battery was in the Reserve Artillery, 23rd Corps. As an artillerist with the rank of corporal, Watkins fought in the battle at Campbell's Station, Tennessee, on 16 November 1863. Subsequently, he was among the Federal troops in Knoxville, Tennessee, who withstood the 17-day Siege of Knoxville (17 November-4 December 1863) and who fought in the Battle of Fort Sanders (29 November 1863).

        Below is a sampling of significant items from the McClung Museum's John Watkins Collection, a 1984 gift of Mrs. Curtis W. Haines.

        [John Watkins] CORPORAL JOHN WATKINS WEARING HIS FEDERAL UNIFORM.
        (74K)

        Photograph, in ornate oval frame.
        [Campaign Hat] CAMPAIGN HAT.
        (46K)

        Worn by Corporal John Watkins, 19th Battery, Ohio Light Artillery.
        [Light Artillery Jacket] LIGHT ARTILLERY JACKET.
        (49K)

        Dark blue cloth, trimmed with scarlet piping, and brass buttons.
        Worn by Corporal John Watkins, 19th Battery, Ohio Light Artillery, stationed at Fort Sanders during the Confederate assault.
        [Field Telescope] SMALL UNION FIELD TELESCOPE.
        (13K)

        Brass, with nickel-plated caps for both ends.
        With caps on, it is 7 inches long; when open, it extends to 17 inches.
        This telescope was used by Corporal John Watkins, who was stationed in Fort Sanders at the time of Longstreet's assault on the fort.
        POWDER FLASKS AND GUNPOWDER. United States Ordnance Regulations in 1834 provided for copper powder flasks for riflemen. Although these became obsolete in 1857, it is probable that some were used in the early part of the Civil War. The copper powder flask was last mentioned in the 1850 Ordnance Manual but omitted in the 1861 edition. Powder flasks were used for measuring desired charges for one's gun caliber. Most of the ammunition used in the war was fixed ammunition, fabricated in government arsenals and issued to troops in the field ready to use. In the early part of the war, some powder flasks were used by riflemen, and many of the pistol flasks were given to or purchased by officers and men to be used with their revolvers. Both military and nonmilitary powder flasks were used by individuals on an official basis. Reports indicate that some of the less fortunate Confederate soldiers from rural areas carried powder horns often made by themselves from cow horn.
        [Powder Flask] COPPER POWDER FLASK.
        (26K)
        [Powder Horn] HOMEMADE POWDER HORN.
        (33K)

        Made from a cow's horn.
        [Gunpowder Container] KENTUCKY RIFLE GUNPOWDER CONTAINER.
        (60K)

        Made by the Hazzard Powder Company, Hazzardville, Connecticut.
        DIVIDED LOYALTIES AND TWO CURRENCIES. During the American Civil War the loyalties of East Tennesseans were strongly divided between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. Money from both the United States and the Confederate States governments was circulated.
        [Money Belt] LEATHER MONEY BELT.
        (51K)

        Used by Corporal John Watkins.
        [Money Pouch] LEATHER MONEY POUCH.
        (39K)

        Used by Corporal John Watkins.


        • John Watkins's contemporary account of the Battle of Fort Sanders is available on the Website of the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable.


        • The John Watkins Papers are maintained, as Manuscript Collection #1161, in Hoskins Library at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville.
        [Blue Rule]

        [Box]  SELECTED WEB RESOURCES

        In addition to the above two Websites pertaining to John Watkins, the following Web resources also provide material on the Civil War in Knoxville, Knox County, and East Tennessee.

        [Red Ball] The American Civil War (Website)
         
        • General Ambrose Burnside's Report of the Knoxville Campaign


        • General James Longstreet's Report of the East Tennessee Campaign (Knoxville)
        [Red Ball] Battle of Fort Sanders Revisited
        - by Rachel Scheider, in The Daily Beacon (University of Tennessee)
        [Red Ball] Battle of Knoxville - Union Forces and Confederate Forces
        - by Randy Forbus (Civil War Battles Page)
        [Red Ball] Blue Springs
        - "Site of an Important Civil War Battle"
        [Red Ball] The Civil War in Knoxville
        - by Anne Bridges, UTK Libraries
        [Red Ball] East Tennessee Bridge Burnings (8-9 November 1861)
         
        • The Bridge Burners
          - by Dave Mathews


        • The Pottertown Bridge Burners
          - by Donahue Bible
        [Red Ball] Kershaw's Brigade, CSA
        - by Mac Wyckoff and James B. Clary
        [Red Ball] Knox County, Tennessee, in the Civil War
        - TNGenWeb Project
        [Red Ball] Knoxville Civil War Roundtable
        - Histories, Historic Sites, Driving Tours, etc.
        [Red Ball] Knoxville: Divided Loyalties
        - Proposed Monument for base of Gay Street Bridge
        [Red Ball] Knoxville-Area Civil War Sites
         
        • Farragut Folklife Museum


        • Mabry-Hazen House


        • Old Gray Cemetery
        [Red Ball] Law's Alabama Brigade
        - by Dr. Kenneth W. Jones, Tarleton State University
        [Red Ball] * NATIONAL PARK SERVICE *
        - Tennessee Civil War Battlefields
         
        • Map - Tennessee Civil War Battlefields


        • EAST TENNESSEE CAMPAIGN
          (September-October 1863)


          • Blountsville - 22 September 1863
          • Blue Springs - 10 October 1863

        • LONGSTREET'S KNOXVILLE CAMPAIGN
          (November-December 1863)


          • Campbell’s Station - 16 November 1863
          • Fort Sanders - 29 November 1863
          • Bean’s Station - 14 December 1863

        • OPERATIONS ABOUT DANDRIDGE
          (December 1863-January 1864)


          • Mossy Creek - 29 December 1863
          • Dandridge - 17 January 1864
          • Fair Garden - 27 January 1864

        • BRECKINRIDGE'S ADVANCE INTO EAST TENNESSEE
          (November 1864)
          • Bull's Gap - 11-13 November 1964
        [Red Ball] Sevierville Hill (Fort Hill) Archaeological Research
        - University of Tennessee, Center For Transportation Research
        [Red Ball] The Siege of Knoxville -- November-December 1863
        - Library of Congress, Selected Civil War Photographs
         
        • Text


        • Photographs
        [Red Ball] The Siege of Knoxville and the Battle of Fort Sanders
        - by Dr. G. Kurt Piehler (edited by Joseph B. Harvey), University of Tennessee
        [Red Ball] The Valley of East Tennessee in the Civil War
        - by Ernest I. Miller, Cincinnati Civil War Round Table
        [Red Ball] 79th New York Infantry (Highlanders)
        - Home/Index/Search Page
         
        • Contains many references to Knoxville and East Tennessee, particularly via the following buttons:
          * Cemeteries
          * Engagements
          * Monuments
          * Search
        [Red Ball] 103rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
        - Lorain County, Ohio, Genealogy

        [Red-Black Rule]

        [Carved Sandstone Figure]       [Permanent Exhibits]
        McClung Homepage       Permanent Exhibits Page