Battle of Fort Sanders Facts

Date

• November 29, 1863

Location

• Knox County, Tennessee

Campaign

• Knoxville Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

• Major General Ambrose Burnside

Principal Confederate Commanders

• Lieutenant General James Longstreet

Union Forces Engaged

• Army of the Ohio

Confederate Forces Engaged

• Confederate Forces in East Tennessee

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 4,400

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 4,000

Estimated Union Casualties

• 20 (killed, wounded, missing, or captured)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• 800 (129 killed, 458 wounded, and 226 captured)

Result

• Union victory

Significance

• The Battle of Fort Sanders was the decisive engagement of Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s siege of Knoxville, Tennessee.
• Union soldiers easily repulsed Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s assault on Fort Sanders in just twenty minutes.
• Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet lifted his siege of Knoxville on December 4, 1863.

Timeline of the Knoxville Campaign

These are the main battles and events of the Knoxville Campaign in order.

• November 4–December 4, 1863 — Siege of Knoxville
• November 16, 1863 — Battle of Campbell’s Station
• November 29, 1863 — Battle of Fort Sanders
• December 14, 1863 — Battle of Bean’s Station