Chattanooga November 6 - Battle of Big Creek, Rogersville - The Army of West Virginia attacks in support of Longstreet's efforts. November 15 - Engagement at Ft. Dickerson. November 16 - Battle of Campbell's Station. November 17 - Longstreet lays siege to Knoxville November 18 - Engagement at West Knoxville. Union General Sanders is mortally wounded. November 25 - Engagement at Armstrong's Hill, South Knoxville. November 28. Weather rainy and cold in Knoxville. General McLaws drives in the pickets at Fort Sanders that evening. A general alarm is sounded in Fort Sanders at 11:00 pm, but the expected attack fails to materialize. The defenders of the fort sleep on their guns in the mud under dog tents. November 29. Assault on Fort Loudon / Sanders. At sunrise the Union troops in Ft. Loudon raise a large US garrison flag on a newly erected flagpole. The band plays Revielle and the National Anthem. Confederate artillery bombards the fort, followed by the Confederate infantry charge, which ends in disaster in 15 minutes. A truce is called to carry off the dead, wounded, and prisoners. Winter quarters 1863–64 About an hour after the failed attack on Fort Sanders on November 29, a telegram from President Jefferson Davis arrived, informing Longstreet of Bragg's defeat at Chattanooga and directing the First Corps to rejoin the Army of Tennessee. At first Longstreet decided to leave the Knoxville area immediately, so he directed the wagon train to move rearward at once. Then two messages from Bragg came in, suggesting the First Corps should cross the mountain ranges into Georgia to reach the army retreating there. As Longstreet held councils of war with his senior officers, the logistical problems of crossing the mountains came to light, and it was decided to stay at Knoxville until Union reinforcements arrived then go into winter quarters near Bristol, Virginia. On December 1 Confederate cavalry patrols captured an enemy courier, carrying a message for Burnside stating three columns had been sent to his aid. Longstreet acted on this information—later proved to be a ruse—and ordered his wagons started eastward under guard. The 15,000 infantrymen began to follow late in the day on December 4, marching in a heavy rain all night. Over the next four days the First Corps retreated toward Virginia, passing through Bean's Station and heading for Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tennessee, where Longstreet halted on December 9. The following