On November 16, 1863, fighting along the Kingston Turnpike at Campbell’s Station helped set the stage for the Battle of Knoxville. Confederate Gen. James Longstreet’s corps had moved north from Chattanooga to recapture Knoxville from Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside and establish a base in East Tennessee, where Knoxville was vital to both armies because Confederate supplies arrived there by rail from Virginia. After reaching the Tennessee River near Loudon, Longstreet saw a chance to catch Burnside’s army outside its Knoxville base and defeat it as Federal forces retreated steadily along the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad back toward the city. Aggressive Confederate cavalry attacks on Union supply lines and artillery wagons compelled Burnside to make a stand near Campbell’s Station on 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 Burnside’s troops continued withdrawing to Knoxville and its fortifications to await Longstreet’s attack. Federal losses were about 400, while Confederate losses were about 570.