At the time ordered for his advance General Foster was suffering from an old wound, and General Parke became commander of the troops in the field. The latter delayed at Strawberry Plains in arranging that part of his command, and General Sheridan, marching with the advance, became commander, until superseded by the corps commander, General Gordon Granger.
The Confederate plans were laid before the army was all up. Their skirmish line was made stronger, and relieved the cavalry of their dismounted service. A narrow, unused road, practicable for artillery, was found that opened a way for the Confederates to reach the enemy’s rearward line of march. Sharp-shooters were organized and ordered forward by it, to be followed by our infantry columns. It was thought better to move the infantry alone, as the ringing of the iron axles of the guns might give notice of the Confederate purpose; the artillery to be called as the Confederate sharp-shooters approached the junction of the roads. The head of the turning force encountered a picket-guard, some of whom escaped without firing. General Granger decided to retire, and was in time to leave the crossroads behind him, his rear guard passing the point of intersection before the Confederate advance party reached it about midnight.
The weather moderated before night, and after dark a mild, gentle rain began to fall.
When Longstreet rode into Dandridge in the gray of the morning the ground was thawing and hardly firm enough to bear the weight of his horse. When the cavalry came at sunrise the last crust of ice had melted, letting the animals down to their fetlocks in heavy limestone soil. The mud and want of a bridge to cross the Holston made pursuit by the heavy Confederate columns useless. The cavalry was ordered on, and the troops at Morristown, on the Strawberry Plains road, were ordered to try that route, but the latter proved to be too heavy for progress with artillery.
While General Longstreet rode through the streets of Dandridge, giving directions for such pursuit of the fleeing Federals as could be made, a lady came out upon the sidewalk and invited him into her parlors. When the orders for pursuit were completed, he dismounted, and with some members of his staff walked in. After the compliments of the season were passed, the Confederates were asked to be seated, and the lady told, with evident great enjoyment, of General Granger during the night before. She had never heard a person swear about another as General Granger did about General Longstreet. Some of the officers proposed to stop and make a battle, but General Granger swore, and said, “It’s no use to stop and fight Longstreet. You can’t whip him. It don’t make any difference whether he has one man or a hundred thousand.” Presently she brought out a flask that General Granger had forgotten, and presented it to General Longstreet. It had about two horizontal fingers left in it. Though not left with compliments, it was accepted. Although the weather had moderated, it was very wet and nasty, and as General Longstreet had taken his coffee at three o’clock, it was resolved to call it noon and divide the spoils. Colonel Fairfax, who knew how to enjoy good things, thought the occasion called for a sentiment, and offered, “General Granger—may his shadow never grow less.”
The cavalry found the road and its side-ways so cut up that the pursuit was reduced to a labored walk. The previous hard service and exposure had so reduced the animals that they were not in trim for real effective cavalry service. They found some crippled battery forges and a little of other plunder, but the enemy passed the Holston and broke his bridges behind him, and Longstreet’s men returned to their huts and winter homes.
To seek some of the fruits of his advantage at Dandridge, the roads being a little firmer, General Longstreet ordered his leading division, under General Jenkins, on the 21st, to proceed to march towards Strawberry Plains, and the Richmond authorities were asked to send a pontoon bridge, tools of construction, and to hurry forward such shoes as they could send.
On the 24th, as the official records show, General Grant sent word to General Halleck of Longstreet’s return towards Knoxville; that he had ordered General Foster to give battle, if necessary, and that he would send General Thomas with additional troops to insure that Longstreet would be driven from the State. He also directed General Thomas to go in person and take command, and said, “I want Longstreet routed and pursued beyond the limits of Tennessee.” And he ordered General Foster to put his cavalry on a raid from Cumberland Gap to cut in upon Longstreet’s rear.
On the 6th of February General Grant reported from Nashville,—
“Major-General H. W. Halleck,
“General-in-Chief:“I am making every effort to get supplies from Knoxville for the support of a large force—large enough to drive Longstreet out.
“U. S. Grant,
“Major-General Commanding.”