am on November 19. Sanders had been promoted brigadier general only a month before, on October 18, 1863. Fort Loudon, which was originally built by the Confederates, was renamed Fort Sanders in honor of the slain Union general on November 24. Knoxville defenses In 1863, the city of Knoxville was located entirely on the north bank of the Tennessee River. Poe's defenses were laid out on a ridge that was at least higher than the surrounding terrain that trended past the north side of the city. The railroad line ran roughly east-west just north of the ridge with the depot directly north of the city. The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad went west from the depot; the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad went east. First Creek ran south into the Tennessee on the east side of the city; Second Creek ran south into the river on the west side of Knoxville. Third Creek was farther west, near where Sanders' fight took place. Brigadier General Edward Ferrero's IX Corps division held the Union defenses on the west side of the city from the river to Fort Sanders and west to Second Creek. Colonel John F. Hartranft's smaller IX Corps division defended the line north of Knoxville between First and Second Creeks. Colonel Marshall W. Chapin's brigade of Brigadier General Julius White's division held the defenses from First Creek to Mabry's Hill. Colonel William A. Hoskins' provisional XXIII Corps brigade and pro-Union Tennessee volunteers defended the line from Mabry's Hill to the river east of the city. Hascall's division was disposed with Colonel Daniel Cameron's brigade defending the south side of the Tennessee River and Colonel James W. Reilly's brigade forming Burnside's reserve. Brigadier General James M. Shackelford also assigned cavalry units to assist Cameron's infantry south of the river. These included Colonel Frank Wolford's brigade which remained on the south bank throughout the siege. On November 19, Longstreet moved his troops to oppose the Union defenses of Knoxville. Technically, Longstreet's operation was not a siege because the Confederates were unable to completely surround the city. When the IX Corps arrived from Kentucky, it brought 2,000 hogs and 600 cattle. Another 800 hogs reached the city before the city was cut off. During the siege, the pro-Union farmers of the French Broad River valley east of Knoxville provided the garrison with 10,000 bushels of corn, 6,000 bushels of wheat, 1,500 hogs, 1,000