Why Winning Dandridge Was Important During the Civil War

Dandridge, Tennessee, has the distinction of being the second oldest town in Tennessee. It is also the only town in the United States named after the wife of the country’s first president, Martha Dandridge Washington. It turns out that Dandridge has a place in the American Civil War as well.

The area became important during the Civil War because federal troops needed food. The engagement came on the heels of the battle at Gettysburg and Confederate setbacks in Pennsylvania in 1863. The Confederate Army felt the pressure of regaining the losses of the previous engagements.

To do this, Robert Lee’s most trusted field commander, Lieutenant General James Longstreet, devised a strategy to regain control of Tennessee and possibly halt the Union Army advancing into the deep South.

General Longstreet did not set off for this engagement until September of 1863 with high hopes of reversing the Confederate’s former misfortunes. With trains carrying men, horses, and various supplies, the men fought Union Armies moving south through the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia and advancing into the Smoky Mountain region and Knoxville (Fort Sanders) in Tennessee.

At Fort Sanders, the Confederate Army suffered a blistering defeat. Afterward, General Longstreet was forced to devise a strategy for moving many men and animals and defending themselves against Union soldiers.

By December 15, 1863, Longstreet (President Davis had given authority independent of General Bragg’s) found a way to strike at Union forces at the hamlet of Bean’s Station.

The troops were in the middle of the winter frost, so their thoughts shifted from military engagement to building shelter. However, the cold was the least of their worries because food, or lack thereof, became an issue too.

General Longstreet then resorted to sending out foraging parties to search for food. Unfortunately, the troops came up empty after discovering that the wheat and oat stored in the summer was taken, or Union troops hid the food.

Essentially, the battle began out of the need for General Longstreet to safeguard food stores for the winter and their position in Dandridge. When Union soldiers marched into Dandridge on January 14, this move jeopardized the Confederate Army’s ability to secure its food source and made the winter camp vulnerable to attack.

The move was no picnic for Union soldiers, who took two days to travel to Dandridge because of the harsh winter conditions. However, when the Union soldiers arrived, the Confederate Army-posted up on two sides of town-were surprised that a large number of enemy soldiers were advancing toward them.

Another Confederate general, General Martin, sent word to Longstreet (who was in the winter huts 20 miles away) that the Union Army was advancing, beginning a race to Dandridge. On January 15, General Longstreet immediately organized his men to march on Dandridge. Between the Confederate and Union Armies, there were now some 46,000 men moving toward Dandridge.

Over the next few days, the Confederate and Union Army exchanged rifle fire with each other until the night of January 17, when the Union Army pulled out. On the following day, the Confederate soldiers walked out to a Dandridge that was asunder. Even with the damage, the Confederate Army forced the Union Army to retreat and secured their food supply for the winter. By the end of the engagement, the Confederacy lost roughly 150 men, while the Union Army lost about 100 men.