The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1886-04-08


shoes, blankets aud clothing. But on Saturday
morning, Nov. 49, Longstreet crosses the
Holston six miles below Loudon.
Gen. Burnside withdrew toward Knoxville
Longstreet made rapid march to intercept
him at CampbelPs Station, where several
| country roads come together, IL miles from
| Knoxville.
| FIGHT AT CANPBELL's.
| Gen. Burnside has with him only 6, coo men
| the remainder Of his troops being at Knoxville
! Longstreet has nearly three times that number
| Hartranft's Division Of Burnside's troops il on
the march from Campbolrs before daylight,
/ The troops reach tie Junction OF the roads;
( dePoy IN the feds south Of the station.
/ Fifteen minutes iaJCr the COntGdCTates appear
! from the south, but are met by whitening
! hre. Ihe wagon train hastenS along the road
. to Knoxville, while FerrerO's and Whites Di-
visions come up and join Hartranft. Long
street forms his trOOD5 and attacks with great
/ ylgOr, but Is repulscd. Burnside's trains ara
now safe and he WiJAdraws to a second posi-
| ton. LOngstreet reneWs the attack but is
again repulsed. The object which Burnside
/ had in view was mpIished-the saving of
/ his trains and the pOntOon bridge which
/ had spanned the river a. LoUdOn, and was now
| being laid at Knoxville. enabling him to main
tain connection between the section of his
army OH the south side, holding the hills that
commanded the-toWn, with the main body on
/ the north side.
|
| drawn away from Bragg too far to return TO
| be OF use when Grant delivers his sledge-ham-
mer blow upon lookout Mountain and Mis-
sionary Ridge. His trains safe, Burnside falls
| back to Knoxville.
| KNOXVILLE
! It is pleasant old town The hills around
| it are green and beautiful The engineer mas
| laid out line of defense. The town is on q
| plateau, 80 feet above the river. Northwest
of the town the table land slopes down to p
valley. On the southwest there is a second
! creek, beyond which you come to College Hill.
| Upon the beautiful slopes are the college build
ings. Beyond the college is 4 second hill.
| Soldiers, loyal citizens, negrOes-all sre at
! work with spades, shOvels and axes, throwing
! up lntrenchments, cutting down trees for
abatis, building dams on the creeks TO over
flow the lowlands along the ravines. The
earthwOrk on the highest hill is named Fort
| Sanders, for young officer only 81 years old
brave, Observation-Disclosures has been directing
affairs at Knoxville, and who has given his
life for his country in an attack by McLaws's
Division on the south side of the river.
Gen. Burnside places BeRjamins and Buck
ley's batteries in Fort Sanders; Roemer's bat
terry on College Hill. Beginning at the river
south Of the town, we see FerrerOs Division first
IN line, extending a mile TO the railroad: Hart
rants Brigade comes next. with Gittings's and
the 18th Ind. batteries. The divisions of White
and Hascall, of the Twenty-third Corps, ex-
river, with the artillery on Temperance and
Mayberry Hills-Simmss 9th Ind, Henshaw's
and Shieldss Ohio, and one section of Wilders
Indiana battery. Two sections of Wilders and
KOnkle's batteries are on the hills across the
river, with Camer0n's Brigade of the Twenty
third Corps.
THE FIRST ATTACK.
Gen. McLaws was sent by LOngstreet to the
south side of the HolstOn to capture the hills
upon which Gen. Sanders had posted his portion
of the troops. If the hills could be carried,
Longstreet could plant his cannon there and
send his shells into the town, along the line of
defense which Burnside had chosen. MeLaws
attempted it, but was repulsed with great
slaughter, and LOngStreet determined to begin
a siege of the town. He would sit down before
1t and wait till Burnside was starved out or,
watching his opportunity, would rush upon
the works. He sent party with axes up the
river to cut down trees, build great raft and
send it down stream to break the pontoOn
bridge: but Burnsides men picked up the logs
as they came down and used them for their
bivouac fires.
On the night of Nov % the Confederates
rushed upon the lines and gained a favorable
position, but just at daylight the 21st Mass.
and 4Sth Pa. charged upon them and regaiued
all that had been lost.
BAD NEWS For LONGsTRgET.
It was disheartening news that reached
LOngstreet three days ater-news from Bragg
that Hooker had swept over Lookout Noun
tain: that Sherman had been pounding at the
northern end of Missionary Ridge; that Thomas
had rushed up the slopes, carrying all before
him; that so cannon had been lost; that the
army was retreating into Georgia, and that
communication with Bragg had been severed;
that Sherman was marching as fast as his
troops could go to relieve Burnside; that he
must take care of himself.
What should LOngStreet do? One of two
things: attack Burnside, carry the works, win
o victory, or flee without battle toward Vir-
ginia. The last would be humiliating. If he
could crush Burnside before Sherman arrived,
then he could turn round and smite Sherman
and redeem what Bragg had lost.
THE ATTACK.
1t is the Goth of November. The key to
Burnside's position is Fort Sanders. If Long
street can gain that the rest will be easy. But
Longstreet does not know what he is to en-
counter; that the ditch behind which Burn
sides men are lying is deep; that trees have
been cut down and placed before it with their
branches intertwined; that telegraph wires
have been stretched from stump to stump, over
which the Confederate troops will stumble and
fall headlong to the ground.
1t is just daylight when Longstreet's men adj
vance-three brigaGes.
There are only two regiments in the fort
the 18th n. Y and 18th 3Iich. Up to the line
of telegraph wire rush the COnfederates. Some
stumble over it, others go down before the fire
from the fort but the men pull the wires from
the staples and rush on up to the abatis-the
pioneers hewing their way with axes through
the trees. They reach the ditch with canister
sweeping them down; they climb the parapet,
only to be shot down upon the embankment.
Serg't Frank Judge, of the 10Th \. Y, Seizes
the foremost Confederate by the collar and
drags him into the fort prisoner. Grenades
have been piled along the parapet. The SOL
ders touch them off and toss them into the
ditch. Lieut.. Benjamin lights the fuze of the
shells and rolls them down the parapet Then
come explosions and terrible slaughter. Two
howitzerS in the baStiOn at the angle of the
fort sweep the ditch with canister.
The Confederates, reinforced by the troops Of
the second line, once more climb the parapes.
A soldier waves his flag to cheer them on, but
he goes down, his life blood pouring from
CHASTITY wound. Men split ont each others
brains with the butts of their muskets. There
are saber strokes. pistol shots, bayOnet thrusts.
But the Confederate column has lost its ag-
gresSiye force. The ditch IS filed with dead
and dying, 96 dead bodies lying there when
the struggle is over. One company of the Goth
Mich. on the right, another of the Goth Mass.
OF the left, leap over the parapet and bring in
more than 200 prisoners and two flags.
In a very few minutes LOO COnfederateS
have been killed or wounded and 500 captured.
The slaughter is over. The COnfederates have
been driven back to their lines, while Burnside
mas lost only eight killed and a few wounded
IL is pitiable Si0ht-fhe Ground ssreVvD with