Appalachian History Series On December 14, 1863, in the hills where Hawkins County meets Grainger County, Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet tried to spring a trap at Bean’s Station. His infantry struck hard at Brigadier General James M. Shackelford’s mixed force of Union cavalry and mounted infantry, but darkness, rain, and missed connections let most of the Federals slip away toward Blain’s Cross Roads.



