The fighting along the Kingston Turnpike in front of you here at Campbell’s Station on a cold, rainy, and miserable November 16, 1863, helped to set the stage for the decisive Battle of Knoxville. Confederate Gen. James Longstreet’s corps had been moving north from Chattanooga to recapture Knoxville from Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside and establish a base in East Tennessee. Knoxville was a vital strongpoint for both armies because it was where supplies for the Confederacy arrived by rail from Virginia.
