December 2d it was rumored that General Burnside's resignation of his command had been accepted at Washington, and that he was to be relieved by General Foster, who was said to be at Tazewell,—a rumor by no means pleasing to the Ninth Corps. At nine o'clock in the evening there was an alarm, and we stood in our places in the trenches expecting an attack.
On the following day the enemy were very quiet, and we thought there were some indications that they were preparing to raise the siege. The number of their pickets was manifestly less than usual. The fact was that their wagon-trains were that day put in motion, and on the night of December 4th the rebels withdrew from their lines around Knoxville, crossed the Holston, and moved up the north bank of the river. The retreat was discovered early in the morning by the pickets of the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts, under Captain Ames, of Company B, who had the honor of first reporting that the siege of Knoxville was raised.
Sherman was then at Marysville, and December 5th sent the following note to Burnside: "I am here, and can bring twenty-five thousand men into Knoxville to-morrow; but Longstreet having retreated, I feel disposed to stop, for a stern chase is a long one. But I will do all that is possible. Without you specify that you want troops, I will let mine rest to-morrow, and ride in to see you." Accordingly Sherman halted his troops, except two of Granger's divisions, and December 6th he entered Knoxville, and reported in person to General Burnside.
In his official report General Sherman says: "On the morning of December 6th I rode from Marysville into Knoxville, and met General Burnside. General Granger arrived later in the day. We examined his lines of fortifications, which were a wonderful production for the short time allowed in their selection of ground and construction of work. It seemed to me that they were nearly impregnable. We examined the redoubt named 'Sanders,' where, on the Sunday previous, three brigades of the enemy had assaulted and met a bloody repulse. Now, all was peaceful and quiet; but a few hours before the deadly bullet sought its victims all round about that hilly barrier."[11]
[11] Memoirs of W. T. Sherman, Vol. I., pp. 382, 383.
The emergency having passed, General Burnside was of the opinion that General Sherman should return to Grant, leaving Granger's command. The necessary orders were given, and General Sherman put his columns in motion southward again. Too much praise cannot be awarded to General Sherman for the promptness with which he came to our relief; as General Burnside said, it was Sherman's approach that raised the siege.
In his official report of this campaign General Grant said: "The armies of the Cumberland and Tennessee, for their energy and unsurpassed bravery in the three days' battle of Chattanooga, their patient endurance in marching to the relief of Knoxville, and the army of the Ohio, for its masterly defence of Knoxville and repeated repulses of Longstreet's assaults upon that place, are deserving of the gratitude of their country." That gratitude they received. Thanks to Grant and his officers and men were voted by Congress, and a gold medal was struck, to be presented by the President to General Grant "in the name of the people of the United States of America." It was also voted that "The thanks of Congress be, and they hereby are, presented to Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside, and through him to the officers and men who have fought under his command, for their gallantry, good conduct, and soldier-like endurance." On the 7th of December President Lincoln issued a proclamation referring to the raising of the siege of Knoxville, "under circumstances rendering it probable that the Union forces cannot hereafter be dislodged from that important position," and recommending that "all loyal people do, on receipt of this information, assemble at their places of worship, and render special homage and gratitude to Almighty God for this great advancement of the national cause."
The noble bearing of General Burnside throughout the siege won the admiration of all his troops. December 11th he transferred the command of the Department of the Ohio to General Foster, the announcement of which was made in the following order:—
Head-quarters Army of the Ohio,
Knoxville, Tenn., Dec. 11, 1863.