Sander's Raid

Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside needed to gather information on Confederate troop strength and to cripple the important East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad before he invaded East Tennessee in 1863. In June, he ordered Col. William P. Sanders to march from Kentucky and destroy track both north and south of Knoxville. Unable to destroy the heavily-defended railroad bridge crossing the Tennessee River at Loudon, Sanders and his 1,500 men (including the locally raised 1st East Tennessee Mounted Infantry) turned to Lenoir's Station, located within the 2,700-acre plantation of the Lenoir family. On June 19, Sander's troops overwhelmed a small Confederate force here and destroyed the depot, the general store, and a railroad car containing Confederate military supplies. They also captured 65 artillery men and their cannons, horses, and mules.

Sanders spared the brick cotton mill in front of you (damaged severely by a 1991 fire). He allegedly wished to protect the only source of cloth for local Unionists. According to local tradition, Dr. Benjamin B. Lenoir, one of the owners, exchanged secret signs with fellow Masons among the Federal officers, ensuring the mill's safety. The next day, Sander's troops marched to Knoxville, briefly engaging Confederate batteries there before continuing to Strawberry Plains and destroying a major railroad bridge. The raid netted some 300 Confederate prisoners and ten pieces of artillery.

Later in November 1863, Confederate Gen, James Longstreet passed through Lenoir's Station—briefly liberating the place—during his Knoxville campaign. Sanders died of wounds received on November 19, 1863, during the fight of Knoxville, and in his memory Union officials named a fort in his honor. Fort Sanders Hospital is near the fort site in downtown Knoxville.

(captions)
Cotton mill, ca. 1870 from Lenoir City Golden Jubilee: 1907-1957
Gen. William P. Sanders Courtesy U.S. Army Military History Institute
Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside Courtesy Library of Congress

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Show me all markers in:  Lenoir City, TN  |  Loudon County  |  37771  |  Tennessee  |  United States of America

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