A Strategic Crossing
Charleston, formerly Fort Cass during the "Trail of Tears" (Indian removal of 1838), was strategically important in the military struggle for East Tennessee. The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad bridge here, the line's only crossing on the Hiwassee River, made it a tempting target. Union loyalists burned it on November 8, 1861, and Union and Confederate forces later damaged it numerous times after it was rebuilt. The 1861 bridge burnings prompted Confederate authorities to tighten their military control over East Tennessee. When retreating Confederate troops damaged the bridge in November 1863, Union Gen. William T. Sherman was compelled to spend the evening of November 30 in Charleston. Here he received orders from Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to take command of a column marching to relieve Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside during the Siege of Knoxville.HM Number | HM1BAU |
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Series | This marker is part of the Tennessee: Tennessee Civil War Trails series |
Tags | |
Placed By | Tennessee Civil War Trails |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Sunday, September 28th, 2014 at 10:34am PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16S E 703912 N 3906780 |
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Decimal Degrees | 35.28343333, -84.75781667 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 35° 17.006', W 84° 45.469' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 35° 17' 0.36" N, 84° 45' 28.14" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 423 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 106 Wool St NE, Charleston TN 37310, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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