LONGS TREET AT KNOXVILLE.



occasion during the war, I believe, when the Con-
federates availed themselves of the possession of
the interior and shorter lines, and transferred a
force of any magnitude rapidly from the eastern
to the western army to meet an emergency, and
then to return.
  The orders were received September 9th, and the
troops were put in motion immediately for Peters-
burg, whence we were to have railroad transporta-
tioi to the vicinity of Chattanooga via Wilmington,
N. C., and Augusta and Atlanta, Ga. This line at
the time was the only one opell from Virginia to
Georgia, the East Tennessee line, the only other
then existing, being held by the enemy at Knox-
ville. Consequently it was taxed with the entire
business of the Confederacy between those States,
and that it managed to do it at all has always
seemed to me a feat in railroad management
deserving great praise. The roads had had but a
small business before the war, and their equipment
and motive power were light even for those days.
The gauges were not uniform, and often the tracks
of connecting roads were joined through the cities
only by lines of drays, and there was no interchange
of ears. There was no mnanufactory of locomotives
in the South, and but one small rolling-mill, at
Atlanta, that could make a rail. Yet, in spite of
all these drawbacks and the enormous business
suddenly thrown upon them, and frequent raids by
the enemy, destroying bridges, tearing up tracks,
burning ties, and bending and twisting rails, the
railroads always came up again smiling, and stuck
to the contest as faithfully as did the army.
  My battalion brought up the rear, leaving Peters-
burg September 17th, and arriving at Ringgold,
the railroad terminus near Chickamauga, on the
25th. Our artillery was distributed about our
lines, the station of my own battalion being on
Lookout Mountain, whence we threw shells over
the enemy's territory, and fought daily with a
vicious little battery in Moccasin Bend, almost
directly under us. This battery had nearly buried
itself in the ground under high parapets, and fired
up at us like a man shooting at a squirrel in a tree.
We propped our trails high up in the air to depress
the muzzles, and tried to mash our opponents into
the earth with solid shot and percussion-shells;
but we never hurt them much, and when we left
the mountain they were still as lively as ever.
  It was at last decided by General Bragg not to
attempt to mauceuvre Rosecrans out of Chatta-
nooga, but to detach Longstreet and send him up
to try to capture Burnside, who was at Knoxville
with a force of about 12,000 effective men. On
the night of November 4th we withdrew from
Lookout Mountain, and the next day marched to
Tyner's Station, whence, with Longstreet's two
divisions of infantry, Hood's (under Jenkins) and
MeLaws's, about 10,000 infantry. we were to be
taken by rail as far as Sweetwater. The infantry
  ) On p. 70y General Grant speaks of Bragg's grave
iudistakes in the Chattanooga campaign, - first, in send-
flug -way his ablest eorps commander, with ever 2e,00o
tr. ala: second, in sending away a divIsion of troops
'urn the eve of battle." The force originally sent with
LUengstreet Included, besides Hood and VMcLaws, 5000



were sent in advance, and the railroad was so taxed
to do this that we were detained at Tyner's until
the 10th, and meanwhile nearly starved, as rations
had been provided for only half that time.
  At length, about noon on the 10th, a train of
flat cars came for us and the guns and men were
loaded, the horses being sent afoot. It was a cold
and windy night, and we suffered a great deal on
the open cars. There was a very insufficient water
and wood supply on the road, and the troops had
to bail water and chop up fence rails for the en-
gine. The journey of only sixty miles occupied
the whole afternoon and night. On the 13th we
moved from Sweetwater with the infantry and a
pontoon-train, and our artillery was reenmforced
by Leyden's battalion of 12 guns, giving us in all
33. Owing to the scarcity of horses we were coin-
pelled to use oxen to haul the caissons.
  We encamped near Swedewater for two days,
while secret reconnoissances were made of the
enemy's position across the Tennessee River at
Loudon, and commissary, quartermaster, and ord-
nance trains were organized and equipped. On
the 13th, Friday, we marched to Huff's Ferry,
about two miles by land below Loudon, which
point had been selected for our crossing. Every-
thing was kept out of sight of the enemy, and soon
after dark some pontoons were carried by hand to
the river, a half mile below the ferry, and a party of
infantry ferried over, to try to surround and cap-
ture the Federal picket which was posted on their
side. This part of the programme, however, failed,
from the vigilance of the Federal sentries. They
all escaped, and probably carried the news to Burn-
side that we were crossing in force, for early next
morning a strong reconnoissance was pushed onus
by the enemy as the last of our troops were cross-
ing the pontoon which had been constructed dur-
ing the night. We drove it back, and organizing
a strong advanee-guard under Lieutenant-Colonel
(afterward General) T. M. Logan, of Hampton's
Legion, with Parker's battery of my battalion, we
pushed forward vigorously in the effort to bring
Burnside to bay and defeat him before he could
get back and concentrate behind the fortifications
about Knoxville. This he bad set out to do as
soon as he appreciated the situation, sending his
trains ahead and covering them with his whole
force. For three days there ensued a sort of run-
ning skirmish covering the whole distance to
Knoxville, about thirty miles. It was not rapid
progress, but the days were short, the roads axle-
deep in mud, and a strong rear-guard of the enemy
skirmished with us for every hill and wood and
stream on the road. Twice -at Lenoir's the first
afternoon, the 15th, and at Campbell's Station the
next-we seemed to have brought him to bay, and
behind our advanee-guard our whole force was
brought up and formed for attack. But the ap-
proach of night prevented an action on both occa-
of Wheeler's cavalry, and these comuands were alt
engaged in the Knoxville campaign. On the 22(d of
November, two brigades of Buckner's division (triscie's
and Bsubrod Johnson's) were sent from Chattanooga
and reaehed Knoxville by the 28th, but were not actively
engaged.-EDrroRs.



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