Battle of Campbell's Station

Battle of Campbell's Station
Part of the American Civil War
The Avery Russell House, built in 1835, stands on the Campbell's Station battlefield.
Date November 16, 1863 (1863-11-16) Location Farragut, Tennessee Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States of America
Commanders and leaders
Ambrose Burnside	James Longstreet
Units involved
Army of the Ohio	Confederate Forces in East Tennessee
Strength
9,000[1]	12,000[1]
Casualties and losses
400[2]–438[3]	570[2]

The Battle of Campbell's Station (November 16, 1863) saw Confederate forces under Lieutenant General James Longstreet attack Union troops led by Major General Ambrose Burnside at Campbell's Station (now Farragut), Knox County, Tennessee, during the Knoxville Campaign of the American Civil War. Longstreet hoped to crush the Union Army of the Ohio forces before they could retreat to Knoxville. During the fighting, the Confederates forced the Union troops to fall back from five separate positions. However, the final result was that Burnside's troops conducted a successful fighting withdrawal.

Longstreet's two infantry divisions, supported by 5,000 cavalry, were detached from General Braxton Bragg's army with the goal of defeating Burnside's forces and recapturing Knoxville. The only reasonable way to accomplish this was to overwhelm the Union troops before they could take refuge behind the defenses of Knoxville. The failure to trap Burnside at Campbell's Station meant that Longstreet was compelled to besiege Union forces within Knoxville. Ultimately, the Siege of Knoxville failed when major Union forces were sent to relieve Burnside and Longstreet was forced to retreat northeast toward Virginia.