W. Pierce's brigade guarded the fords two miles below, Colonel Collins's brigade of the second division was held in reserve. The enemy appeared at eleven o'clock A. M., on the south bank of the river, and placing a battery of six guns in position, opened fire upon our lines. Our own artillery promptly responded, and an artillery duel ensued, continuing for four hours, after which the enemy retired. But little loss was suffered on either side. The bridge was destroyed, and on the next day the Corps marched to Knoxville, followed by the enemy's cavalry at a very respectful distance, which was increased on the advance of the 27th Michigan regiment. On the 26th, General Willcox was relieved by General Parke, who had returned to Knoxville from leave of absence. General Willcox took command of the second division, which was posted at Lyon's Mill, below Knoxville. This division accompanied General Schofield in his advance upon Morristown in the latter part of February. The conclusion of the siege of Knoxville may fairly be taken as the termination of the active campaign of the Corps in East Tennessee. There was but little additional fighting, but there was much hard service in watching the enemy and preventing him from making inroads upon our lines. Supplies of clothing. and food were somewhat scanty, and the troops in some instances suffered severely in consequence.. Mention is made, in some reports from that quarter, of the almost utter destitution to which the men were reduced. Six spoonfuls of flour and the scattered corn that could be picked up from under the feet of the animals, were all that could be procured for a week's rations. "One table spoonful of coffee was issued once in from three to five days. The men were unable to subsist upon such allowance, and each morning there could have been seen parties of two and three in search of food. Some of the loyal Tennesseeans would meet them with smiles; and upon being asked for bread, they would reply in their peculiar vernacular, that 'they were plumb out,' and had not 'a dust of meal in the house.' Many of the men were barefooted, and raw hide was issued to be made into moccasins."* Such were the circumstances amid which the movement for the redemption of the loyal people of Tennessee was consummated. The soldiers of the Ninth Corps exhibited as heroic a spirit in the endurance of hardships as in the achievement of victories. As no foes could appall them, so no privations could subdue. With cheerful and even eager alacrity, they were willing to take up new duties and bear new pains in behalf of the country for which they fought and suffered. They proved to the enemy that they could not be conquered, and he was forced to be content with the loss of the important section which they had wrested from his grasp. The Ninth Corps was soon to return to the East and participate in movements of a more startling and conspicuous nature. But it may safely be recorded, that, of the important operations of 1863, the DELIVERANCE OF EAST TENNESSEE deserves to hold an equal rank with the victory which turned the tide of invasion from Pennsylvania, and is not far behind the magnificent triumph which gave the Mississippi once more to the Republic ! Letter from an officer in the 29th Massachusetts, in "Massachusetts in the Rebellion," p. 330. HE necessity of a change in the chief direction of the a * been apparent both to the officers and soldiers of the army, and to the people of the country. The brilliant and most important successes of General Grant in Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia, which were due to his military genius and his admirable persistence, pointed him out as the man best fitted for command. But General Grant had but just been appointed to the regular army, and the jealousies of rank were to be avoided, if possible. Congress composed whatever difficulty might thus arise, by passing a bill to revive the full grade of Lieutenant General, the brevet of which had already been conferred upon General Scott. The President approved the bill on the 29th of February, 1864. The act provided that the person to fill the position should be selected from among those officers in the military service of the United States not below the grade of Major General, most distinguished for courage, skill and ability.” "Being commissioned as Lieutenant General," he was to be au *Major General, July 4, 1863. |