Divided Loyalties: Fort Sanders And The Civil War In East Tennessee

Digby Seymour

• Publisher: Bonhopai Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781779790477
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

Digby Seymour's Divided Loyalties: Fort Sanders and the Civil War in East Tennessee offers a compelling and meticulously researched account of one of the most complex and fiercely contested regions during the American Civil War. Focusing on East Tennessee—a region where Union and Confederate sympathies were deeply intertwined—Seymour examines the social, political, and military struggles that defined the area's wartime experience.

 

At the heart of the book is the Battle of Fort Sanders, a crucial engagement in the Knoxville Campaign of 1863. Seymour provides a detailed analysis of the battle's strategic importance, the leadership of figures like General James Longstreet and General Ambrose Burnside, and the challenges posed by East Tennessee's divided population. Through vivid descriptions and extensive use of primary sources, he brings to life the tension, bravery, and desperation that characterized the fight for control over this vital stronghold.

 

Beyond the battlefield, Divided Loyalties delves into the broader struggles faced by East Tennesseans, who found themselves caught between opposing forces in a war that split families, communities, and allegiances. Seymour explores the region's resistance to secession, its role in Unionist guerrilla activity, and the hardships endured by civilians as armies clashed over their land.

 

 Rich in historical detail and narrative depth, Divided Loyalties is an essential read for Civil War enthusiasts, military historians, and anyone seeking to understand the war's impact on the often-overlooked but strategically significant region of East Tennessee. 

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1 — The Disloyal Unionists
• 2 — Keystone of the Confederate Arch
• 3 — The Considerate Commander
• 4 — Revolt in the Ballot Box
• 5 — Bushwhackers and Vigilantes
• 6 — The Bridge Burners
• 7 — The First to Die
• 8 — A Debtor’s Paradise
• 9 — Kindly Yet Firmly
• 10 — A Panic in Kentucky
• 11 — The Locomotive Chase
• 12 — Wither the Bright Hopes
• 13 — The Yankees Pay A Visit
• 14 — The Dreaded Foe So Long Expected
• 15 — The Flood of the Mighty Gray River
• 16 — To Separate the Quarreling Generals
• 17 — More Like Romance Than War
• 18 — Fighting Joe Wheeler—No Ordinary Man
• 19 — Like Moves Upon a Chessboard
• 20 — Prettiest Shot of the War
• 21 — Alone in His Glory
• 22 — Earthworks Grow Like Magic
• 23 — “One of My Children Isn’t Dead”
• 24 — Rush To It Without Hallooing
• 25 — Twenty Minutes at Fort Sanders
• 26 — “Now I Can Have a Good Snooze”
• 27 — The Aftermath: Horseshoes for the Cold and Hungry
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Bibliography
• Pictures and Sources