Confederate Gen. James Longstreet‘s campaign to retake Knoxville, Tennessee from occupying Union forces has been underway since November 16, to no avail. Having given up on his siege efforts, Longstreet on December 4 had left the Knoxville area and headed northeast, pursued by Union forces.
Today the Knoxville Campaign comes to an end when Longstreet defeats his federal pursuers in a skirmish at Bean’s Station on the Holston River. Confederate casualties number 900 to the Union’s 700.
With winter setting in, Bean’s Station becomes the last battle this year for Longstreet, who afterwards settles into winter quarters at Russellville, Tennessee. To the general’s disappointment, Union forces will rest safely in Knoxville during this winter. Only about 50 miles separates the respective armies.
Meanwhile, the revival at the Second Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia continues:
The meetings which have been going on at the Second Baptist Church for some time past, will be continued during this week. The regular pastor will be assisted in his ministrations by several interesting preachers.
As the air grows ever colder in the South, religious revivals are increasingly the best counterpart to the gloominess settling ever lower over the Confederacy.
Sources: Knoxville Campaign (link); Battle of Bean’s Station (link); “Religious,” Richmond Daily Dispatch, December 14, 1863 (link)
