Detailed map of the 1864 Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee
Orlando Metcalfe Poe et al. / The Graphic Co. Photo.-Lith., New York, TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF THE APPROACHES AND DEFENCES OF KNOXVILLE E. TENNESSEE SHEWING THE POSITIONS OCCUPIED BY THE UNITED STATES & CONFEDERATE FORCES DURING THE SIEGE. Surveyed by direction of Capt. O. M. Poe Chf. Engr. Dept. of the Ohio DURING Dec. Jan. and Feb. 1863-4. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, [mid 1870s].
Lithograph printed in black and yellow with blue and red overprinting to show Confederate and Union works, 26”h x 29 ½”w at neat line plus margins. Mounted on linen at an early date. Minor soiling and staining, tack holes at corners, some “bubbling” where map lifting from backing linen. Very good.
$450.00
In stock
A wonderfully detailed Civil War map depicting the failed Confederate siege of Knoxville, Tennessee in November-December, 1863.
Rendered at a uniform scale of 1:87,000 (1”:1.37 miles), each map depicts the topography in and around Knoxville in great detail; the roads, railways, bridges, and other landmarks; the fortifications of the Union forces defending the city (blue) and the lines of the besieging Confederates (red).
The siege of Knoxville
The siege of Knoxville, Tennessee took place from November 17 to December 4, 1863. The campaign had its origins in the larger struggle for East Tennessee, a region with strong Union sympathies and strategic value. In August and September 1863, Ambrose E. Burnside and the Union’s Army of the Ohio occupied Knoxville relatively unopposed. In November, James Longstreet led a Confederate force to challenge this occupation, aiming to recapture the city and secure the region.
Longstreet’s corps approached Knoxville from the southwest and south, but they were unable to completely encircle the city or interdict all the Union supply lines. Inside Knoxville, Burnside’s forces took advantage of the terrain and rapidly constructed strong defensive works—especially on high ground overlooking the city and the north bank of the Holston (now Tennessee) River. On November 29 the Confederates launched a major assault on Fort Sanders (the principal bastioned work guarding the western approaches to Knoxville), but the attack failed with heavy Confederate losses, while the Union garrison held firm. Meanwhile, Union forces south of the river and food supplies from pro-Union East Tennesseans kept the defenders fed and resilient.
As the siege dragged on, a significant Union relief column under William T. Sherman approached, compelling Longstreet to abandon the encirclement. On December 4 he withdrew northeastward, leaving Knoxville in Union hands. The failed siege strengthened Union control of East Tennessee, deprived the Confederacy of a foothold there, and freed up Union forces for other operations.
Orlando Metcalfe Poe (1832–1895)
Poe was a native of Navarre, Ohio and graduated near the top of his West Point class in 1856. Commissioned into the Topographical Engineers, he spent the antebellum years surveying in the Great Lakes. Over the course of the Civil War he emerged as one of the Union Army’s most capable engineer-officers, serving in a succession of field and staff roles in the Western theater.
In 1863 Poe was appointed Chief Engineer of the Army of the Ohio under Ambrose E. Burnside and accompanied that force into East Tennessee. During the subsequent siege of Knoxville, he oversaw the layout and construction of the city’s defensive system—selecting high ground, supervising the rapid construction of earthworks and batteries, and strengthening the bastioned work later known as Fort Sanders. The sophistication and siting of these defenses were widely credited with the Union’s successful resistance to James Longstreet’s Confederate assault in November 1863.
After the Knoxville campaign, Poe was chosen as William T. Sherman’s chief engineer and accompanied him through the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas. Remaining in the Corps of Engineers after the war, Poe became one of the principal designers of Great Lakes coastal lights and was responsible for major improvements to navigation infrastructure, including the original “Poe Lock” at Sault Ste. Marie. He died in Detroit in 1895 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
References
Stephenson, Civil War Maps[:] An Annotated List of Maps and Atlases in the Library of Congress, #427.
Inventory ID:
Detailed map of the 1864 Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee
Orlando Metcalfe Poe et al. / The Graphic Co. Photo.-Lith., New York, TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF THE APPROACHES AND DEFENCES OF KNOXVILLE E. TENNESSEE SHEWING THE POSITIONS OCCUPIED BY THE UNITED STATES & CONFEDERATE FORCES DURING THE SIEGE. Surveyed by direction of Capt. O. M. Poe Chf. Engr. Dept. of the Ohio DURING Dec. Jan. and Feb. 1863-4. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, [mid 1870s].
$450.00
In stock
Lithograph printed in black and yellow with blue and red overprinting to show Confederate and Union works, 26”h x 29 ½”w at neat line plus margins. Mounted on linen at an early date. Minor soiling and staining, tack holes at corners, some “bubbling” where map lifting from backing linen. Very good.
A wonderfully detailed Civil War map depicting the failed Confederate siege of Knoxville, Tennessee in November-December, 1863.
Rendered at a uniform scale of 1:87,000 (1”:1.37 miles), each map depicts the topography in and around Knoxville in great detail; the roads, railways, bridges, and other landmarks; the fortifications of the Union forces defending the city (blue) and the lines of the besieging Confederates (red).
The siege of Knoxville
The siege of Knoxville, Tennessee took place from November 17 to December 4, 1863. The campaign had its origins in the larger struggle for East Tennessee, a region with strong Union sympathies and strategic value. In August and September 1863, Ambrose E. Burnside and the Union’s Army of the Ohio occupied Knoxville relatively unopposed. In November, James Longstreet led a Confederate force to challenge this occupation, aiming to recapture the city and secure the region.
Longstreet’s corps approached Knoxville from the southwest and south, but they were unable to completely encircle the city or interdict all the Union supply lines. Inside Knoxville, Burnside’s forces took advantage of the terrain and rapidly constructed strong defensive works—especially on high ground overlooking the city and the north bank of the Holston (now Tennessee) River. On November 29 the Confederates launched a major assault on Fort Sanders (the principal bastioned work guarding the western approaches to Knoxville), but the attack failed with heavy Confederate losses, while the Union garrison held firm. Meanwhile, Union forces south of the river and food supplies from pro-Union East Tennesseans kept the defenders fed and resilient.
As the siege dragged on, a significant Union relief column under William T. Sherman approached, compelling Longstreet to abandon the encirclement. On December 4 he withdrew northeastward, leaving Knoxville in Union hands. The failed siege strengthened Union control of East Tennessee, deprived the Confederacy of a foothold there, and freed up Union forces for other operations.
Orlando Metcalfe Poe (1832–1895)
Poe was a native of Navarre, Ohio and graduated near the top of his West Point class in 1856. Commissioned into the Topographical Engineers, he spent the antebellum years surveying in the Great Lakes. Over the course of the Civil War he emerged as one of the Union Army’s most capable engineer-officers, serving in a succession of field and staff roles in the Western theater.
In 1863 Poe was appointed Chief Engineer of the Army of the Ohio under Ambrose E. Burnside and accompanied that force into East Tennessee. During the subsequent siege of Knoxville, he oversaw the layout and construction of the city’s defensive system—selecting high ground, supervising the rapid construction of earthworks and batteries, and strengthening the bastioned work later known as Fort Sanders. The sophistication and siting of these defenses were widely credited with the Union’s successful resistance to James Longstreet’s Confederate assault in November 1863.
After the Knoxville campaign, Poe was chosen as William T. Sherman’s chief engineer and accompanied him through the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas. Remaining in the Corps of Engineers after the war, Poe became one of the principal designers of Great Lakes coastal lights and was responsible for major improvements to navigation infrastructure, including the original “Poe Lock” at Sault Ste. Marie. He died in Detroit in 1895 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
References
Stephenson, Civil War Maps[:] An Annotated List of Maps and Atlases in the Library of Congress, #427.
Additional information
| year published | 1875 |
|---|---|
| event | Civil War |
