On Nov. 4, 1863, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was detached from the Confederate Army of Tennessee near Chattanooga with two divisions, about 5,000 cavalry, and approximately 12,000 troops to attack Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Union Department of the Ohio troops at Knoxville, a vital stronghold for both armies because supplies for the South were brought in from Virginia by rail. After briefly confronting each other at Loudon, the opposing forces began a race to Knoxville. With approximately 5,000 troops and greatly outnumbered, Burnside's Union forces were ordered to draw the Confederate army to Campbell Station and delay its advance to Knoxville. Burnside chose this strategic site as a defensive location because of its high ground, and on a cold and miserable Nov. 16 the battle began. The Union troops arrived first under Burnside and had barely enough time to set up defenses on the high ground near the present day intersection of Concord Road and Kingston Pike. After six hours of heavy fighting, the Confederates failed to break through the Union line, and night fell. Total casualties were about 348 Confederate and 338 Union troops. By delaying the Confederate forces, the Union troops already in Knoxville were able to prepare fortifications. Through the night, Burnside's division continued to race Longstreet toward Knoxville, taking them away from General Braxton Bragg to the south. Having successfully delayed the Confederate offensive, the Union troops continued to Knoxville to join in the successful defense of the city. One officer called the Battle of Campbell Station, from beginning to end, the "prettiest little fight" ever fought.