Battle of Bean's Station

The Battle of Bean's Station (December 14, 1863) was fought in Grainger County, Tennessee, during the Knoxville campaign of the American Civil War. The action saw Confederate forces commanded by Lieutenant General James Longstreet attack Union Army cavalry led by Brigadier General James M. Shackelford. After a clash that lasted until nightfall, Longstreet's troops compelled the Federals to retreat. Two cavalry columns that were intended to envelop Shackelford's force were unable to cut off the Union cavalry, though one of the columns captured 25 Federal wagons. On December 15, Shackelford was joined by some Union infantry southwest of Bean's Station where they skirmished with the Confederates before withdrawing again.

Longstreet's troops began the Siege of Knoxville on November 19. When Major General Ambrose Burnside's garrison was relieved on December 4 by a much larger Union army led by Major General William T. Sherman, Longstreet retreated northeast to Rogersville. The pursuing Union force under Major General John Parke soon halted at Rutledge and Bean's Station. Learning that the bulk of Sherman's army left the area, Longstreet decided to assume the offensive again. He planned to surround and crush Shackelford's cavalry, but the Union cavalry resisted stubbornly, and the Confederate cavalry pincers failed to close. On December 16, Shackelford joined Parke's main Union field force at Blaine's Crossroads. Seeing that his strategy failed, Longstreet withdrew to the northeast.