Civil War

This Week in the Civil War

00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 695

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published November 6, 2013 at 1:46 PM CST

On Wednesday, November 4, 1863 Confederate General Braxton Bragg, responding to an earlier suggestion by Jefferson Davis, ordered James Longstreet’s corps to move against east Tennessee which was controlled by Ambrose Burnside’s Union forces.

While Bragg’s army would be seriously weakened by transferring Longstreet’s men, Knoxville needed to be recaptured for the Confederacy and communications with Virginia had to be reestablished. This bold plan of action frightened the Union War Department; William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union corps already was moving toward Chattanooga but had not arrived to relieve Rosecrans.

Until he did, Ulysses Grant could not either fully relieve Chattanooga or pursue Longstreet to assist Burnside’s army. If Sherman’s corps did not arrive quickly, east Tennessee might very well once again fall into the hands of the Confederate military.