Title: Benton L. Thompson Siege of Knoxville Letter

Date/Date Range :   1863 November 22

Extent: 0.1 linear feet

Abstract:

This Civil War letter was written by Benton L. Thompson of the Union Army, and contains general details of his journey to Knoxville, Tennessee by railway and by foot for the Siege of Knoxville.

Call number: MS-3005

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Purchased by Special Collections on November 27, 2006.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Benton L. Thompson Siege of Knoxville Letter, MS-3005. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

This collection consists of a single folder.

Benton L. Thompson was born in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. He joined the Union Army on August 21, 1862 as a private in the 118th Ohio Infantry. He missed the Siege of Knoxville by several days, and was mustered out of the army on June 24, 1865 at Salisbury, North Carolina. The Siege of Knoxville was part of the Knoxville Campaign, a series of American Civil War battles and maneuvers in East Tennessee during the fall of 1863. Union forces under Major General Ambrose Burnside occupied Knoxville, Tennessee, and Confederate forces under Lieutenant General James Longstreet were detached from General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee at Chattanooga to prevent Burnside's reinforcement of the besieged Union forces there. Although Longstreet was one of General Robert E. Lee's best corps commanders in the East, he was unsuccessful in his role as an independent commander in the West and accomplished little during the campaign in East Tennessee.

This Civil War letter was written by Benton L. Thompson of the Union Army's 118th Ohio Infantry on November 22, 1863 and contains general details of his journey to Knoxville, Tennessee by railway and by foot in preparation for the Siege of Knoxville.

• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Knoxville (Tenn.) -- Siege, 1863.
• Soldiers -- Ohio -- Correspondence.