Knoxville Under Siege: Uncovering the footsteps of our Civil War history

A short film on the Knoxville campaign during 1863 and the social ramifications affecting its citizenry.
Published by the Knoxville News Sentinel for the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Fort Sanders.
Read more: knoxne.ws/2PLz4Dv

[@nickroberts6984]

Nice seeing Gerald Augustus in the video ! : )

[@RUNNOFT71]

Thank you guys so much for this video. As a Knoxville native I had no idea the amazing history right beneath my feet!

[@StevenSmith-dc1fq]

What a fantastic video? Think I'll have to fact-check some parts (Sanders) but overall what a close-in view of a community that found itself, briefly, a centerpiece of the Civil War, but tends to now be overlooked. A particular revelation is how polite society changed its sights once Burnside came in to replace Buckner. (Then when Longstreet arrived, oh man...)

[@astrofrk]

I drive for First Transit and right by Fort Sanders many times a day.

[@pictowoman]

The song this opens to Is Lorena written by a man JP Webster who lived in Elkhorn Wi. His house there is the area Historical Society. Ellhorn a nice little town to visit. He is also buried there.

[@carolbell8008]

This video is very interesting. Knoxville was having a town civil war. Longstreet made a big blunder here. Very sad to think of those slain men and their families. The brave brave men handled the matter in their generation rather than leave it. At such a huge sacrifice spanning several generations. The pictures are fantastic.🌺🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

[@greenwave819]

Yes!

[@lorenzoburns1618]

All this to keep a people in bondage, I pray that they might answer to God for that evil time

[@72Yonatan]

Tennessee was a divided state, and you did not pay a damn bit of attention to the video. The war itself took such a toll on the residents of Knoxville that they buried the history of the war and moved on in order to forget it. East Tennessee was loyal to the Union, and that is why the Confederate Army invaded it. Benjamin Burleyson lived and died in East Tennessee, a scout for the Union Army. His family originated in North Carolina. And the Confederacy brought all this punishment onto the South with its arrogance.

[@galatian5]

@@72Yonatan Tennessee was a unique southern state. About 1/3rd of her sons fought for the Union. Actor Michael Rooker is actually descendant from a Tennessean Union soldier that started the war as a confederate, but later became a Union Cavalryman. He also was part of the assault that killed rebel General John Hunt Morgan and even helped to capture President Jefferson Davis.

[@galatian5]

@Cannon Hinnant was murdered Imagine fighting a war for the democratic party to keep said former slaves in the US and killing the Republican president who was going to allow them to return to Africa, then in 2020 hating the new Republican president while screaming BLM and trashing US cities in the name of the Democratic party. The Confederacy was the Antifa of it's day.

[@greenwave819]

Knoxville at this time, was very small in population compared to modern Knoxville.

[@nickroberts-xf7oq]

5,000

[@claraeous4677]

After all this sacrifice, this is what we have become

[@theunfortunategeneral]

I first heard it as 8013 men vs 5 and I was like "daaamn!" Then I heard it was just 813 men...

[@galatian5]

It was absolutely amazing that Burnside (someone who is sort of the Leonidas Polk of the Union) could mop the floor with an elite corps commander like Longstreet. Knoxville really helped him to save face in light of all the bad points of his military career.

[@WhiteHorses]

+Lancelot Du Lac (galatian5) It was Burnside's finest hour, who managed to withdraw from Lenoir Station under torrential rain & kept his 3 Divisions intact at Campbell's Station before moving off to Knoxville in the dark. Longstreet could hardly be called elite during the whole Tennessee campaign, having managed it badly from beginning to end & having the man management skills of Braxton Bragg :P

[@doorsfan48]

Burnside was a lot better than he's made out to be read William Marvel's biography. He should have won Fredricksburg and the crater.

[@galatian5]

nothing nothing I got to check that book out. I usually would say that Fredricksburg should have been avoided all together.

[@doorsfan48]

Burnside's original plan was to bypass lees army by way of Fredricksburg and take Richmond.Instead due to mess up in Washington the bridges for his army got there after Lee's army was set up on the other side of the river. Burnside at that point did not want to go forward with the campaign saying to President Lincoln " I can no longer promise success." He was pushed into attacking by Washington.Burnside was a micromanager and was severely sleep deprived when the battle took place The main part of his attack was supposed to fall to William B Franklin. Who misinterpreted his orders and sent one division to carry out what was supposed to be the main assault.The legendary fruitless assaults against marys heights were intended as a feint but turned into a desperate lie to save Burnside's army. once he realized Franklin would not attack again he kept to send assaults against Marys heights to show his army was not defeated

[@galatian5]

nothing nothing That's some great insight. I compliment you on your inner knowledge of the battle. What's your opinion on Joseph Hooker's plan during Chancellorsville?