Overview
President Abraham Lincoln considered control of East Tennessee important because most residents in the region remained loyal to the Union. The region also contained a major railroad that connected Richmond, Virginia, with Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Deep South. East Tennessee farms also produced large amounts of food.
Lincoln placed General Ambrose Burnside in command of the Department of the Ohio on January 26, 1863. Burnside left Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 2 and moved the 9th and 23rd Army Corps toward Lexington, Kentucky. His advance was delayed when General Ulysses S. Grant called the 9th Corps to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Burnside resumed his movement toward Knoxville, Tennessee, on August 6.
Rather than attack Confederate defenses at the Cumberland Gap, Burnside marched around them. His cavalry reached Knoxville on September 2, and his army entered the city on September 3. Burnside then returned to the Cumberland Gap, where General John Frazer surrendered about 2,300 Confederate soldiers on September 9.
Burnside next sent Union forces into northeast Tennessee. They won the Battle of Blountville on September 22 and defeated an outnumbered Confederate force at Blue Springs on October 10. Union troops pursued the retreating Confederates until they crossed into Virginia near Abingdon on October 13. Burnside then ended the pursuit after clearing northeast Tennessee of organized Confederate forces.
Essential Facts
- Date: June 2–September 9, 1863.
- Location: Eastern Tennessee near Knoxville.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Ambrose Burnside.
- CSA Commanders: Simon B. Buckner and John Frazer.
- Who Won: The United States won the East Tennessee Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, July–December, 1863.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Undetermined.
- Forces Engaged: Department of the Ohio, including the 9th and 23rd Army Corps.
- Troop Strength: 20,500.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Undetermined.
- Forces Engaged: Department of East Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Undetermined.
Significance
The East Tennessee Campaign is important to American History because it brought a strongly pro-Union region of Tennessee under Union control. The campaign also secured Knoxville, Tennessee, which stood along the main railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, with Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Deep South. General Ambrose Burnside avoided a costly attack at the Cumberland Gap, occupied Knoxville, and forced about 2,300 Confederate soldiers to surrender. Later Union victories at Blountville and Blue Springs drove organized Confederate forces from northeast Tennessee into Virginia. The campaign fulfilled one of President Abraham Lincoln’s major priorities, although Confederate cavalry raids continued and General James Longstreet launched the Knoxville Campaign in November 1863.
History
On June 8, 1861, Tennessee became the last Southern state to secede from the Union. The decision, however, was far from unanimous. In the eastern part of the state, the referendum on secession lost by some 20,000 votes at the polls. Starting an independent secessionist movement, citizens of East Tennessee petitioned the state legislature to form a new state that would remain in the Union. The governor responded by sending military personnel to Knoxville to enforce the statewide vote for secession from the Union. Despite attempts to coerce the population, East Tennessee and Knoxville remained pro-Union throughout the American Civil War.
President Abraham Lincoln considered the liberation of East Tennessee to be of paramount importance. Beyond the moral and political duty to support the loyal citizens of that part of the Union, East Tennessee was strategically valuable. The main railway connecting the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and on to the Deep South, ran through Knoxville. In addition, East Tennessee farmers produced large amounts of food supplies that either side could use to sustain their army if they controlled the area. Despite its strategic importance and being high on the president’s list of priorities, events in other theaters of the war delayed any major Union action in the area until the Army of the Ohio, commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside, moved to occupy East Tennessee in the summer of 1863.
Ambrose Burnside and the Department of the Ohio
Lincoln reassigned Burnside as commander of the Department of the Ohio on January 26, 1863, following Burnside’s brief and unsuccessful tenure leading the Army of the Potomac. Burnside arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, in March, and following some controversial confrontations with Copperheads, he turned his attention to Knoxville. Burnside left Cincinnati on June 2, 1863, and marched two corps, the 9th and 23rd, to Lexington, Kentucky. Upon arriving in Lexington, Burnside delayed his plans when Major General Ulysses S. Grant ordered the 9th Corps to reinforce his attempt to capture the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi. While awaiting the return of the 9th Corps, Burnside ordered a small force of cavalry and infantry on raids near Knoxville to destroy railroads and communications lines. On August 6, Burnside resumed the advance from Lexington to Knoxville, planning to reunite with the 9th Corps in transit.
Burnside Takes Knoxville
The most direct route from Lexington to Knoxville passed through the Cumberland Gap, which Confederate soldiers commanded by Major General Simon B. Buckner defended. Instead of launching a direct assault on the Confederate defenders, Burnside wisely marched two divisions of his army over forty miles of rugged terrain around the Cumberland Gap toward Knoxville. Events occurring in the Chickamauga Campaign had forced Buckner to move most of his army to southern Tennessee, leaving only a token force to defend Knoxville. Thus, Burnside’s cavalry reached Knoxville on September 2, almost unopposed. On September 3, Burnside marched his army into Knoxville, and the citizenry warmly received them.
Burnside Seizes the Cumberland Gap
With Knoxville occupied, Burnside returned his attention to the 2,300 Confederate holdouts at the Cumberland Gap who refused to surrender, despite being threatened by a division Burnside had left behind. On September 7, Burnside marched a brigade sixty miles in fifty-two hours from Knoxville to the Cumberland Gap. The Confederate commander there, Brigadier General John Frazer, realized that the Yankees greatly outnumbered him and thus surrendered on September 9.
Clearing East Tennessee
After seizing the Cumberland Gap, Burnside hatched an aggressive plan to clear the northeast corner of Tennessee of Confederates. To achieve his goal, Burnside deployed Brigadier General James Shackelford to that part of the state to take control of railroads, bridges, and other infrastructure. On September 22, 1863, Union forces commanded by Colonel John J. Foster defeated Confederate soldiers commanded by Colonel James E. Carter at the Battle of Blountville.
Two weeks later, Burnside personally led a large force of Union soldiers out of Knoxville to reinforce Brigadier General Samuel P. Carter and his cavalry brigade that had been skirmishing with Confederate Brigadier General John S. Williams and his men for nearly a week near Blue Springs (present-day Mosheim), Tennessee. On October 10, 1863, Burnside’s soldiers overran the outnumbered Confederates, forcing them to abandon Blue Springs.
For the next three days, the two sides sparred as the Federals pursued the Confederates who were forging their way northeastward toward Virginia. On October 13, 1863, the weary Confederates crossed the state line near Abingdon, Virginia. Having accomplished his goal of ridding northeast Tennessee of hostile forces, Burnside called off the chase.
Outcome
Except for some Confederate cavalry raids, things remained relatively quiet in East Tennessee until Confederate General James Longstreet launched his Knoxville Campaign in November 1863.
Timeline
- 1861, June 8 — Tennessee became the last Southern state to secede from the Union.
- 1863, January 26 — President Abraham Lincoln assigned Major General Ambrose Burnside to command the Department of the Ohio.
- 1863, March — Burnside arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- 1863, June 2 — Burnside left Cincinnati and marched the 9th and 23rd Army Corps toward Lexington, Kentucky.
- 1863, August 6 — Burnside resumed his advance from Lexington toward Knoxville.
- 1863, September 2 — Burnside’s cavalry reached Knoxville with almost no opposition.
- 1863, September 3 — Burnside led his army into Knoxville, where pro-Union residents welcomed the soldiers.
- 1863, September 7–9 — Union forces won the Battle of Cumberland Gap.
- 1863, September 22 — Union forces won the Battle of Blountville.
- 1863, October 10 — Union forces won the Battle of Blue Springs.
- 1863, October 13 — Retreating Confederate forces crossed into Virginia near Abingdon, and Burnside ended the pursuit.
- 1863, November — Confederate General James Longstreet launched the Knoxville Campaign.
AP US History
Definition
East Tennessee Campaign (1863) — The East Tennessee Campaign was a Union military operation led by General Ambrose Burnside to occupy the strongly pro-Union region of East Tennessee. Burnside bypassed Confederate defenses at the Cumberland Gap and entered Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 3, 1863. Confederate forces surrendered the Cumberland Gap on September 9. Union victories at the Battle of Blountville and the Battle of Blue Springs then forced the remaining Confederate soldiers northeast into Virginia, resulting in a Union victory.
Alignment
The East Tennessee Campaign is part of the following AP US History sections:
