Liberating Knoxville: Burnside brings East Tennessee back into the Union

 The liberation of the Unionists of eastern Tennessee was a long-sought-after political goal of the Lincoln Administration through the first two years of the war, and it fell to Major General Ambrose E. Burnside to deliver Knoxville into Union hands in September 1863. The former Army of the Potomac commander, undone by intrigue at the hands of his subordinates and shelved after the twin disasters of Fredericksburg and the Mud March, had been given command of the Army of the Ohio in the summer of 1863 and tasked with liberating eastern Tennessee.

          Among the regiments of Burnside’s new army was the 65th Indiana Volunteer Mounted Infantry. This regiment, raised in southern Indiana, was led by Colonel John Watson Foster of Evansville who had previously seen service at Shiloh with the 25th Indiana.  The 65th Indiana had been on guard duty in Kentucky for about eight months when in April 1863 it was mounted upon horses and reorganized as a mounted infantry unit. After elements of the regiment took part in chasing John Morgan during his Indiana-Ohio raid, the regiment marched south on August 16th with the aim of taking Knoxville. The city fell without a fight on September 1, 1863 and the 65th Indiana was the first Union regiment to march into the city.

          The warm welcome the Hoosiers received from the Tennesseans moved one soldier to write “the whole town was wild with delight. Some were shouting, some were laughing, some were crying, and other praying. The doors and windows were thrown open and citizens, male and female, old and young, stood in the streets and in the doors to assure us of a welcome.” It was a rare treat to be welcomed as liberators and one that the men of the 65th Indiana savored for the remainder of their service.

          The following account of the liberation of Knoxville was written by one of the regular correspondents of the Evansville Daily Journal who signed his missives simply as “Tom.”

 

Major General Ambrose E. Burnside led the Army of the Ohio on its campaign to liberate East Tennessee during the summer of 1863. "General Burnside is a very sociable man. He presents a striking contrast to some of the undergrade of shoulder-strapped officials. While they dress to excess and put on all the style possible, General Burnside goes very plain. When he entered the city, he had on a cavalry hat with a yellow cord, a short round-about, and a checkered shirt with the collar about three inches wide turned over the collar of his jacket. How simple, yet how great," remembered one of his soldiers. 

Knoxville, Tennessee

September 7, 1863

          Little did your correspondent think when he left Evansville on the 11th of August that he would be writing from Knoxville, Tennessee at the present time. Knoxville free! Free from the shackles of the oppressor, her people once more allowed to walk the streets in security. There are no conscripting officers to seize the patriots now. The night of their darkness has past and the daylight of freedom dawns upon them. But will it continue? It must, and it shall!

 

          The gallant 65th Indiana was the first regiment to enter Knoxville under their gallant leader Colonel John W. Foster. I have no doubt that it was the proudest moment of his life. Every soldier felt more than fully compensated for all the privations and hardships he had endured during our long march by the shouts and cheers of welcome that greeted them from every side. Our entrance into the city was one continued ovation. Flags were to be seen flying everywhere. Flags, that had been hidden in closets for two years, were once more flung to the breeze to welcome the deliverers of East Tennessee. It needed but the presence of one man to render our triumph complete. That man was Parson [William] Brownlow, that true and tried patriot who had braved imprisonment, even death, rather than renounce the best government that a just and wise Providence ever created. But he will be here soon, and the Knoxville Whig will once more be hurling its anathemas against the foul traitors of our glorious Republic.

 

“The whole town was wild with delight. Some were shouting, some were laughing, some were crying, and other praying. The doors and windows were thrown open and citizens, male and female, old and young, stood in the streets and in the doors to assure us of a welcome. Citizens and soldiers without regard to rank, age, or sex conversed and greeted each other with all the familiarity of old friends. It was not necessary that a soldier should wear stars, straps, or stripes: if he only wore blue pants and jacket he became on object of attention.” ~ Captain Saunders R. Hornbrook, Co. H,  65th Indiana Mounted Infantry

 

          This book the Union men of Tennessee have long and earnestly prayed for. The Rebels made their boasts when they were here that the Yankees would never enter Knoxville. But when they heard of General Burnsides’ army marching on the place, they were panic-stricken and General [Simon B.] Buckner, with his legions of trained veterans cowardly fell back without firing a shot. We entered the town in the evening and the Rebels had left in the morning. They could easily have held the town against our brigade, but they had not the courage to stand up before the gallant Hoosiers and those outraged Tennesseans whom they had driven from their homes. But such is sometimes chivalry…

 

Colonel John Watson Foster, 65th Indiana Volunteer Mounted Infantry

          The Rebels tore up the railroad track here for a short distance, but it is quite easily repaired. Colonel Foster captured several trains of cars and locomotives here, and they are capturing them every day above here and as soon as Rosecrans takes Chattanooga, we will open the road from here to Nashville and thus our supplies will come directly through Louisville. The cutting off of the communication of the Rebels with Chattanooga has broken another great link in the chain of the Confederacy.  They can get no supplies from this part of the country and their cause is getting more desperate every day. This is a very nice place. The city is built on a number of hills and there are many very fine residences. I have visited the jail where Brownlow and those other patriots were confined. The gallows, where so many Union men were hung, was destroyed by Lieutenant Colonel Johnson.

 

          If the people of Indiana could have witnessed our entrance into Knoxville where so many met us on all sides, they would have some idea what Unionism is. The feeling in Indiana is nothing compared with East Tennessee. In our state, it has cost nothing to be true to the government; but here in Tennessee, they have risked their lives to uphold the cause of the North. Why, when we were crossing the Cumberland Mountains, we found people who had been on the brink of starvation for weeks; and if, perchance, they happened to have a little corn meal, they would say, ‘God bless you, take it. I can live on roasting ears till I can get some more.’ Is there such Unionism in the North? I hope so, but I have never seen it.

 

          I witnessed a sight the other day that I do not think has been equaled during the rebellion. Two hundred ladies formed themselves in line like soldiers and with two American flags at their head, marched through the city chanting a song for the Union. They then marched out to the fairgrounds, the camp of the Second Brigade, and gave our boys apples, peaches, pies, cakes, cold chicken, bread, etc. They would shake hands with the boys and tell them to go on in the good work. Who wouldn’t be a Union soldier when the fairest ladies in the land turn out by the hundreds to welcome them and tell them “God speed you on your mission of mercy.” Knoxville was never so full of citizens in 15 months. Hundreds have been hidden in the mountains to avoid being conscripted and they are coming in every day. We are also administering the oath of allegiance to hundreds of Confederate soldiers who were conscripted and got away.

 

Later in the war, some soldiers of the 65th Indiana purchased Henry repeating rifles; William Finch of Co. A carried the above weapon which sold recently at auction. 

          General Burnside and staff, accompanied by Generals Carter and Shackleford with their staffs, arrived on the evening of the 3rd. As soon as it became known around that the General had arrived in town, hundreds of people (citizens and soldiers) repaired to his headquarters to welcome the veteran chieftain. General Carter was first called on by the citizens to make a speech to them. He is from East Tennessee and has not been able to return home for many months. He talked to the people a little while and told them he thanked God for the hour of deliverance was at hand, and with their assistance he would drive the invaders from the soil of Tennessee. General Burnside was then called upon. He told the people that those who knew him knew that talking was not his forte. He came to act, not to talk. But he would say that from the moment he took command of the Army of the Ohio, it was his fondest wish to lead an army for the deliverance of Tennessee. He furthermore told them that came with arms in the wagons to arm the loyal patriots so they could help to drive the Rebel hordes beyond the borders of this glorious state. This news created the wildest enthusiasm and the shouts of the multitude testified their willingness to assist in putting down the rebellion. He then retired.

 

          General Shackelford was then called on and he told them his heart was full to overflowing at the evidences he witnessed of the Union sentiment. Just as he got through speaking, a large flag was flung to the breeze from the portico of the house, and Generals Burnside and Carter made their appearance on the balcony. Cheer after cheer rent the air and the people gave way to that enthusiasm by every demonstration of delight. The crowd then dispersed, and all was quiet. There was a grand review yesterday by General Burnside of infantry and artillery. It was a fine sight and the splendid music discoursed by the brass bands added to the interest of the occasion.

 

General Burnside is a very sociable man. He presents a striking contrast to some of the undergrade of shoulder-strapped officials. While they dress to excess and put on all the style possible, General Burnside goes very plain. When he entered the city, he had on a cavalry hat with a yellow cord, a short round-about, and a checkered shirt with the collar about three inches wide turned over the collar of his jacket. How simple, yet how great.

 

Sources:

Letter from Tom, 65th Indiana Volunteer Mounted Infantry, Evansville Daily Journal (Indiana), October 1, 1863, pg. 1

Letter from Captain Saunders R. Hornbrook, Co. H, 65th Indiana Volunteer Mounted Infantry, Evansville Daily Journal (Indiana), October 7, 1863, pg. 1

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