Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding Federals in the Western Theater, had urged Major-General John G. Foster to advance his Federal Army of the Ohio out of Knoxville and confront Lieutenant-General James Longstreet’s Confederates in northeastern Tennessee. Grant directed Foster, “Drive Longstreet to the farthest point east that you can.” Grant then wrote his superiors:
“If Longstreet is not driven out of the valley entirely and the road destroyed east of Abingdon, I do not think it unlikely that the last great battle of the war will be fought in East Tennessee… I am deeply interested in moving the enemy beyond Saltville this winter, so as to be able to select my own campaign in the spring, instead of having the enemy dictate it to me.”
But Foster preferred to stay on the defensive due to a general lack of supplies and intense cold in the region. He wrote Grant, “The men are suffering for want of shoes and clothing. Ammunition is also becoming scarce; of some arms entirely expended.” To accomplish the “sharp work” of driving Longstreet out of eastern Tennessee, Foster needed “5,000 pairs of shoes, 10,000 pairs of socks, 5,000 shirts, 5,000 blouses, 10,000 overcoats, 10,000 shelter tents, 1,000,000 rifle cartridges,” and other supplies.
Major-General Gordon Granger, whose Fourth Corps had been detached from Major-General George H. Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland to reinforce Foster at Knoxville, complained to Thomas about the hardships his men were facing:
“The suffering and privations now being undergone by our troops are most cruel, I assure you. We have been now nearly a month without tents and clothing, and from the limited quantity of our transportation–only one wagon to a regiment–and being obliged to live upon the country, our rations have been very irregular and limited… many of the command are falling sick with pneumonia, diarrhea, &c… The stock of medicines and stationary in Knoxville is entirely exhausted…”
The lack of food compelled Federals to raid private homes and businesses, and as Provost-Marshal General S.P. Carter reported, “Many of the citizens thus troubled are as loyal and patriotic as the soldiers of the United States Army, and in some cases have been stripped of their all by men wearing the garb of Federal soldiers.”
Major-General Jacob D. Cox, commanding the Twenty-third Corps in Foster’s army, explained:
“The want most felt was that of clothing and shoes. The supply of these had run very low by the time (former army commander Ambrose) Burnside had marched through Kentucky and Tennessee to Knoxville, and almost none had been received since. Many of the soldiers were literally in rags, and none were prepared for winter when Longstreet interrupted all communication with the base of supplies. Their shoes were worn out, and this, even more than their raggedness, made winter marching out of the question. The barefooted men had to be left behind, and of those who started the more poorly shod would straggle, no matter how good their own will was or how carefully the officers tried to enforce discipline and keep their men together.”
When Grant asked Foster for a progress report in late December, Foster replied, “The enemy is still in force; no engagement yet. A movement is in progress which will bring on a partial one soon. We want ammunition, and cannot fight a general engagement until supplied.” Grant angrily replied, “I will go to Knoxville in person immediately. If Longstreet is not driven from Tennessee soil, it shall not be my fault.”
As Grant prepared to see things at Knoxville for himself, he received word that Foster’s horse had fallen on him and aggravated an old wound. General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck notified Grant, “General Foster has asked to be relieved from his command on account of disability from old wounds. Should his request be granted, who would you like as his successor?”
Grant reached Knoxville on New Year’s Eve and quickly realized that Foster was right; the Federal army was in no condition for an immediate offensive. Foster directed Cox to bring his corps to Strawberry Plains “for the purpose of constructing earth-works for the defense of the railway bridge and the ford in that vicinity.” Grant set about looking for someone to replace Foster; there would be no offensive operations until next year.
Bibliography
- Catton, Bruce, Grant Takes Command. Open Road Media, Kindle Edition, 2015.
- Grant, Ulysses S., Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York: Da Capo Press, 1982 (original 1885, republication of 1952 edition).
- Stanchak, John E. (Patricia L. Faust ed.), Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.