A Union cavalry raid ended in a decisive engagement at the Nolichucky River, eliminating roughly a quarter of Confederate forces in eastern Tennessee.
Key Facts
- Union force size
- ~960 cavalry (3rd NC Mounted Infantry)
- Confederate force size
- ~400 troops (64th NC Infantry)
- Confederate casualties
- ~100 (approx. one quarter of force)
- Union commander
- Colonel George Washington Kirk
- Confederate commander
- Colonel James A. Keith
- Battle date
- December 29, 1864
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Union forces under Colonel George Washington Kirk launched an extended raid through western North Carolina, southwest Virginia, and eastern Tennessee late in 1864, part of broader Union efforts to disrupt Confederate control in the region's mountain counties.
Approximately 960 Union cavalrymen of the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry engaged around 400 Confederate troops of the 64th North Carolina Infantry at the Red Banks of the Nolichucky River in Unicoi County, Tennessee, on December 29, 1864. The engagement was also called the Battle of the Bloody Chucky by Confederate soldiers.
Union forces eliminated roughly a quarter of the Confederate troops and compelled the remainder to retreat, then continued their planned march into Knoxville, consolidating Union momentum in eastern Tennessee.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Colonel George Washington Kirk.
Side B
1 belligerent
Colonel James A. Keith.