, 1886-03-27
A"SANGUINARY SIEGE.
GEN. LoNGsTREET's ATTACK UPON
FORT SAUNDERS, NEAR KNOXVILLE.
One of thu Hardest Fights Of the War
Saved BY Three Hundred shoveIs-TeIe-
graph Wire Strung Along tn. Ground
A Fearful Inughter

One OF the Hardest Fights of the War
Saved BY Three undred shoveIs-Teie-
graph Wire Strung Along the Ground
A Fearful slaughter.
nGen. Longstreet hadn't blundered into
attacking the strongest fertilization about
Knoxville In November, 1868. and had
assailed any one OF the other defcnses, Il Is
likely that the history of the war in east
Tennessee would nave taken on a very
different color than the one historians nov
give IT,
Early In November Burnside learned
that Iongstreet was en- route from Chat
tanooga 10 Knoxville, and, like David, he
went out to meet him, and, unlike the
slayer Of the Philistines, he came hastily
back, licked He had met Longstreet at
Campbell's station, a few miles southwest
OF Knoxville, and then lost no time
in reaching his Knoxville headquar-
tiers. Mai. Hoxie, who Is now a promi-
e Knoxville business man, was then
the superintendent and general manager
OF the East Tennessee railroad, told me the
other day that Burnside came to him inn
mediately ON his return and said: ~You
have about forty cars here at your dis
posnl, and four engines. ! want You TO
place quick combustill.s under every OF e
OF those cars aud oe ready to touch a
match to tics at II moments warning.
Gen. Burns,d. IS paymaster had just re-
ceived about 1900, 900 in ~greenbacks, and
they were all stored in an old building,
which now stands on Gay street. From
Maj. Hoxie the general obtained a guam
tity OF turpentine and stored it near this
wealth, with instructions to saturate
and ignite the minute Longstreet entered
Knoxville.
SAVED BY HUNDRED sHovELs.
At the same time the people OF the city
were not idle. At the light on Malvern
hills, In Virginia, Longstreet had captured
from Mcclellan 300 shovels and sent them
up to Richmond. The Confederate govern
ment subsequently, sold these identical 300
shovels TO the president OF the East Tennes-
see, and he turned them over to the custody
OF Ma. Hoxie, who had them stored in this
city, They were the city's salvation. Had
Longstreet thrown them into the James
River Knoxville could not ave been for
titled, and Burnside would either have
been captured or have skedaddled up to
the Potomac army. Every man who could
handle a pick or shovel, soldier and civil
ian alike-and there were mighty few
civilians In east Tennessee during the war
was at work.
Fort Saunders was erected in a night.
Rifie-pits and earth-works surrounded
Knoxville, and in less than seventy-two
hours Burnside from his headquarters on
Gay street, could communicate by wire TO
a half a dozen different garrisons. Fort
Saunders was commanded by Gen.
Feraro, who before the war was a French
dancing-master. In this fort the links
uniting the cars which Burnside wanted
Hoxie TO be ready to burn, were buried.
nNkA r.u.u n .rI-NAI -
knew hat the cars without inks were as
useless as cars without wheels, and so
took this recaution to disable rather than
destroy.
TRIPPED BY TELEGRAPH WIRE.
Fort Saunders was by far the strongest
Of all the Qualifications, and It was against
It that Longstreet made his fatal charge.
In going over the ground and through the
fort to-day, Maj. Hoxie said: "Over
there, pointing to some woods a mile OF
more away, "was where Longstreet formed.
This open field, which now lies before us,
was then covered with underbrush, stumps
n fallen trees. At my suggestion a lot
Of telegraph wires, which | had furnished,
had been strung all along through the field
for a quarter Of a mile, and fifty or sixty
feet away from the rife pits 1t was
strung about a foot from the ground, just
lAkh thOAkn ~ tttCu u iltu ou MS snluh.
The Confederates came charging up that
field just ut daylight. They had planned
to get in between the range of our guns,
but were swept on the left flank by a bat.
terry OF which they were ignorant, and
then when they struck that wire they
tumbled II over the other almost panic
stricken. The sensation OF being thus
tripped must be very similar to that OF be
ing shot in the legs. AT any rate the i'm
mediHte results were the same. The
slaughter then became frightful.H Mai.
Hoxie then went on to describe the cool
ness Of II Lieut.. Benjamin in Feraro's
command.
Benjamin saw the predicament int
which the wire had thrown the Confeder-
ates, and seizing an armful Of small bombs
he coolly lighted his cigar, advanced IN
the fertilization near enough to be within
bombs throw Of the enemy, and then cut
ting the fuse, he would light zach with his
cigar and three or four seconds before the
explosion hurl them among the men
struggling owe the telegraph wire in the
ri1e-ptt. Each explosion was terrific and
and carried with 1t death to a dozen men
The attack did not last but a few minutes.
Not a man was killed In the fort, Over
1,4OO Coufederates were left lead in the
pits and ON the field. Bongstreet re
treated. skirted round the city, and went
on up into Virginia, where he Joined Lee.
Knoxville Cor. Cincinnati Enquirer.