Living History weekend at Ft. Dickerson set for Oct. 29-30

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Civil War in East Tennessee, Fort Dickerson, Knoxville Civil War Rountable

Fort Dickerson, the Civil War earthwork atop a hill on Knoxville’s southern riverfront will once again be populated with soldiers in blue and gray as the Knoxville Civil War
Roundtable and the City of Knoxville present a Living History weekend on October 29
and 30, 2017.

Local re-enacting units, historians, and authors alike will commemorate the Siege of Knoxville that took place in November of 1863.

The free event is sponsored by the City of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Department and hosted by the Civil War Roundtable. Fort Dickerson Park is located just off Chapman Highway in South Knoxville at 3000 Fort Dickerson Road.

The Living History Weekend will run from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday, October 29, and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Sunday, October 30. Activities will include living
history campsites, infantry drilling with rifle firing demonstrations, a Civil War medical
and surgical exhibit, ladies fashions, battle reenactments, cannon firings, and a salute to all veterans.

Visitors are invited to park for free at Disc Exchange across from Shoneys, where they can ride a free shuttle to Fort Dickerson.

Fort Dickerson was one of sixteen earthen forts and battery positions surrounding
Knoxville that were built by the United States Army during the Civil War. It was one of
three constructed upon the heights across the Holston (now Tennessee) River from
Knoxville, the other two being Fort Stanley and Fort Higley.

The middle fort was named for Captain Jonathan C. Dickerson, 112th Illinois Mounted
Infantry, who was killed in action near Cleveland Tennessee.

For more information on this event as well as Civil War History in Knoxville, contact Event Coordinator Tom Wright at 865-482- 1680 thomaswright8@comcast.net or Re-enactor Coordinator Perry Hill at 865-283- 1691 or cpthill63rdtn@yahoo.com.

Tentative schedule of activities:

Saturday, October 29, 2017
10:00 am – Camps open to public
11:00 am – Ladies Fashions
11:30 am – Mustering in/Infantry Drill
12:00 pm -Civil War Arms
12:30 PM – MEDICAL DEMONSTRATION
1:00 PM – FIFE AND DRUM
1:30 PM – HISTORY OF FORT DICKERSON
2:00 PM – BATTLE OF FORT DICKERSON
3:00 PM – PASS IN REVIEW
3:30 PM – MEDICAL DEMO
4:30 PM – CAMPS CLOSE TO PUBLIC

Sunday, Oct. 30, 2017
11:00 AM – CAMPS OPEN TO PUBLIC
12:00 PM -CIVIL WAR ARMS
12:30 PM – INFANTRY DRILL/FIFE AND DRUM
1:00 PM – CIVIL WAR MEDICAL DEMONSTRATION
1:30 PM – HISTORY SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE
2:00 PM – CIVIL WAR SKIRMISH
3:00 PM – PASS IN REVIEW
4:00 PM – CAMPS CLOSE TO PUBLIC

Jim Lyle tours Ft. Dickerson in these three videos

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Fort Dickerson, Jim Lyle

KCWRT’s Jim Lyle conducts a short tour of Ft. Dickerson in Knoxville.

Thanks to Val Lyle for these videos.

Ft. Dickerson Park clean-up day set for April 1

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Fort Dickerson

The Knoxville Civil War Roundtable sponsors a Ft. Dickerson Park clean-up day twice a year (Spring and Fall).

This year’s Spring Clean-up day is Saturday April 1.

We spread mulch on the trails, pick up fallen debris, and trim brush.  The Knoxville Police Department Explorer Scouts provide huge labor assistance. Knoxville Parks and Recreation provides the mulch and a loader.

All willing workers welcome.

KCWRT provides refreshments and light snacks.  Time is 9:00 – 12:00 noon.  Bring rakes, pitchforks, trimming and brush clearing tools.  Park at the top of the Fort Dickerson hill.  Enter off Chapman Highway south at the new entrance and stop light.  All are welcome.

Excellent community service hours.

Fort Dickerson Living History Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, October 28-29, 2016

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Fort Dickerson, Knoxville Civil War Rountable, Living History Weekend

Fort Dickerson, the Civil War earthwork atop a hill on Knoxville’s southern riverfront, will once again be populated with soldiers in blue and gray as the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable and the City of Knoxville present a Living History weekend on October 29th and 30th, 2016. Local re-enacting units, historians and authors alike will commemorate the Siege of Knoxville that took place in November of 1863.

The free event is sponsored by the City of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Department and hosted by the Civil War Roundtable. Fort Dickerson Park is located just off Chapman Highway in South Knoxville at 3000 Fort Dickerson Road.

The Living History Weekend will run from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday, October 29, and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Sunday, October 30th. Activities will include living history campsites, infantry drilling with rifle firing demonstrations, a Civil War medical and surgical exhibit, ladies fashions, battle reenactments, cannon firings, and a salute to all veterans. Visitors are invited to park for free at Disc Exchange across from Shoney’s, where they can ride a free shuttle to Fort Dickerson.

Dorothy E. Kelly: General Who? William P. Sanders

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Ambrose Burnside, Antietam, Battle of Fort Sanders, Belle Boyd, Chattanooga, E. Porter Alexander, Fort Dickerson, George McClellan, James Longstreet, James M. Shackelford, Joseph Kershaw, Joseph Wheeler, Lamar House Hotel, Orlando Poe, Peninsula Campaign, Robert E. Lee, William P. Sanders

By Dorothy E. Kelly

ddkelly@earthlink.net

Civil War historians outside the East Tennessee area know little or nothing about the Federal general who gave his life at Knoxville. But how much do WE know about this man whose name adorns modern buildings, hospitals, and even a neighborhood?

Born under the Southern skies of Kentucky and raised in the humid Mississippi river town of Natchez, William Price Sanders was a young Federal officer on his way up when he died at Knoxville in 1863. He had been a general one month and one day.

Sanders was the sixth child of Margaret and Lewis Sanders, a prominent Mississippi attorney. According to his sister, Elizabeth J. Sanders Haggin, William Price was named for a physician uncle and was known as “Doc” to family and friends, a nickname which was later adopted by his fellow officers.

William Price Sanders

Sanders’ politically connected father secured his appointment to West Point in 1852. His career at West Point was somewhat rocky. A May, 1854 letter from West Point Commandant, Robert E. Lee, announced his impending dismissal for want of application, deficiency in academics and accumulation of numerous demerits. With the aid of a fellow Mississippian—Secretary of War Jefferson Davis— Sanders avoided dismissal and went on to graduate in 1856. In addition to Sanders, two of his West Point classmates played important roles in the Civil War in East Tennessee: Orlando M. Poe, Burnside’s Chief Engineer and designer of the Knoxville fortifications, and E. Porter Alexander, Longstreet’s Chief of Artillery.